"Because we chose it," Finn says, pulling back to meet my eyes. "In that moment, we chose each other. Not because of the bond. In spite of it."
My shadows dance around us, lighter somehow, more playful than they've been since we arrived. Even Mouse seems less tense, his violet eyes warm with approval.
"I think," Finn continues, that familiar mischievous grin finally returning, "we might just be unstoppable when we stop fighting what we actually want."
I laugh, actually laugh, for the first time since stepping foot in this realm. "Is that your solution to everything? Stop fighting and start kissing?"
"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" He waggles his eyebrows, but there's real tenderness underneath the humor. "Besides, I'vegot about four more people to convince, so I better perfect my technique."
The thought of Finn trying to kiss his way through everyone's anger makes me snort with laughter. "I'd pay to see you try that approach with Torric."
"Please. The man's basically a walking furnace. One good kiss and he'd melt like butter."
"You're ridiculous."
"You love it." He says it lightly, but there's a question underneath. A hope.
I meet his gaze, feeling the bond hum between us. Not forced now, but freely given. "Yeah," I say softly. "I do."
The ache in my chest doesn't disappear, but it shifts into something warmer. Something that feels less like a wound and more like possibility.
Chapter 25
Kieran
Kieran
I shouldn't be here.
The thought loops through my mind, but the bond doesn't care. It pulls with relentless insistence, dragging me toward her like a tide I can't escape. Every instinct screams at me to give her space, to let her process what I've done without my presence poisoning the air further.
But I can't stay away.
I keep to the shadows beyond the garden, hidden among the twisted trees that somehow still grow in this corrupted place. The sanctuary's dim torches flicker over the impossible oasis where Kaia sits with Finn, golden light catching in her hair, dancing across the restless movement of her shadows.
She doesn't push him away when he settles beside her.
Doesn't tense or retreat.
She leans into him.
Something sharp twists in my chest—not jealousy, exactly, but something rawer. More complicated.
At first, it's subtle. A whisper of warmth creeping through the bond, easing the rigid tension that's held my shoulders locked since the Hall. The relief isn't mine—it's hers. Kaia's emotions trickle through our connection like water through cracked stone, and despite everything, despite the fury I can still taste at the edges of her consciousness, there's something else.
Contentment.
The warmth spreads through me, settling in places I didn't realize were cold. For a moment, I almost forget why I'm lurking in the shadows like some lovesick fool, because feeling her at peace, even if it's not because of me, is worth the ache in my chest.
But then the bond shifts.
Her emotions deepen, intensify. Affection bleeds through the connection, soft and genuine, followed by something that makes my breath catch.
Want.
It starts as a flutter, barely noticeable, but it builds with each passing second. Heat spreads through my stomach as Kaia's desire flows through the bond, and I have to grip the bark of the nearest tree to steady myself.
She's not thinking of me.
