“You already said you wouldn’t.”
“And you believed me?” I ask, a hint of challenge in my voice.
“Yes.”
The answer comes without hesitation. The certainty in it settles through the bond in a warm, unexpected wave.
“Very well,” I say quietly. “Let us begin.”
She straightens slightly as I close the remaining distance between us.
“You’re standing very close.”
“That is intentional.”
“I suspected.”
For a moment she studies me without stepping back, her chin lifted in quiet defiance. The firelight from the hearth spills across her features, catching in the soft strands of hair that have escaped her braid. There is nothing fragile about her posture despite the difference in our size. If anything, the calm steadiness in her eyes makes her more dangerous than the flames she accidentally summons.
Beautiful.
The realization arrives with surprising force. Not in the delicate, ornamental way mortals often adVirel one another, but in the fierce, grounded way of something meant to endure storms.
Mine.
The instinctive thought curls through the bond before I bother restraining it. I raise my hand slowly. Her eyes track the movement, cautious but not fearful.
“May I?” I ask.
She hesitates only a moment before nodding. My palm settles over the center of her chest, directly above her heart.
The bond surges instantly.
Heat floods the connection between us, not destructive but vibrant and alive. Beneath my hand her heartbeat stutters once in surprise before gradually slowing as she steadies herself.
“There,” I murmur. “Feel that.”
“Yes.”
Her voice is softer now.
“The bond responds to your body before your thoughts. Fear quickens your pulse, your breathing, the tension in your muscles. All of that tells the bond you are in danger.”
“So if I control those things?—”
“You control the reaction.”
Understanding dawns across her face.
“How?”
I lower my voice.
“Breathe with me.”
Her gaze flicks briefly to my eyes before she nods.
“Inhale slowly.”
