The motion draws uneasy murmurs from the villagers watching nearby, but I do not acknowledge them. My attention remains fixed entirely on the woman standing before me, the healer who should never have been dragged into the orbit of something as destructive as my existence.
When I finally break the silence, my voice remains calm despite the storm coiling quietly beneath my ribs.
“There is a way to prevent this from happening again.”
Her attention sharpens immediately. The bond stirs faintly with wary curiosity rather than fear.
“How?” she asks.
I hold her gaze steadily.
“The bond between us.”
Understanding crosses her expression.
“You want to control it.”
“No,” I reply quietly.
“I want to remove it.”
The words settle into the morning air with quiet finality. Elowen does not speak at first. I continue before she can interrupt.
“The mate bond is what allows your fear to channel infernal power,” I explain evenly. “Without it, the connection between your emotions and my nature would cease to exist. Your fear would remain your own rather than becoming… this.”
I gesture faintly toward the burned remains of Briarthorn. Her eyes follow the motion before returning slowly to my face.
“You can do that?” she asks.
“Yes.”
“And the fire would stop?”
“Yes.”
She studies me carefully.
“And what happens to you?”
The question is quieter than the others. I do not look away.
“Severing a mate bond is not… a gentle process,” I say after a moment. “For demons it destroys something fundamental. The bond anchors part of our power and identity once it forms. Removing it would cripple that connection permanently.”
Her brow tightens slightly.
“You mean it would hurt.”
“That is a simplified description.”
“How badly?”
I consider the question briefly.
“It would destroy a portion of my nature.”
The words carry no embellishment.
“Most demons would consider it equivalent to cutting out a vital organ.”
