"Malrik..."
"You can't leave yet. I can't let you walk out that door thinking everything is okay."
Her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag. "What are you saying?"
"The power," I said, voice lower now. "It's becoming part of you. Not just reacting to you. It's responding. Harmonizing."
Her lips parted, but no words came.
I stepped closer. "Because it came from me. And because I..."
I stopped, breath catching in my chest.
"You what?" she whispered.
"I didn't mean for it to happen this way," I said, quieter now. "But I gave you more than power, Charlie. I gave you a part of myself."
She looked stricken, shaken, but not angry. Not yet.
"You said it could be reversed."
"It can." I nodded. "But the longer this connection lives between us, the more permanent it becomes. Especially when..." My voice broke. "Especially when there are feelings involved."
Silence pressed between us. I expected her to pull away. To leave. To say the thing I feared most, that she never wanted any of this. That she wanted me gone from her life as much as the power in her veins.
Instead, she took a breath. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't understand what was happening until today. I didn't understand how my feelings for you would escalate the binding."
She didn't look away.
And that undid me.
My hand rose before I could stop it. Fingers brushing the line of her jaw, the warmth of her skin against mine sending a pulse of energy through the connection. She didn't flinch. Didn't pull away. Only watched me with wide, burning eyes.
"This might be the last time," I said softly, almost to myself. "If you walk away after this… if you choose not to carry this any further, I'll make sure it ends. I promise I will protect you."
"Malrik..."
But I didn't let her finish. I leaned in.
And kissed her.
Not a cautious kiss. Not restrained. But deep and consuming, full of everything I hadn't said. Her fingers found my shirt, grabbing the fabric as if she might fall without it, and the moment our mouths met, the power surged between us. Hot and alive, rippling across our skin.
A jolt arced between us, real and electric, and we both gasped into it.
I didn't care. Not in that moment. Not with her body pressed to mine.
When I pulled back, I lingered. Forehead to hers, breath tangled.
"I shouldn't have done that," I said, though I didn't let her go.
Her eyes were dazed, lips still parted.
I touched her cheek again. Once more. Just in case this was the last time. My thumb brushed her jaw, memorizing the shape of her.
"If you want to walk away," I said roughly, "I'll understand. I'll do what must be done."
