“Rubi, listen to me,” he said. He looked at me, strong and sure. “I am much too stubborn of a scorchhole to die. We are both going to live. Together. Do you trust me?”
I gave a half laugh, then nodded.
I heard his breath catch. His forehead pressed to mine, and when he spoke again, it was barely more than a whisper. “Thank you.”
My hands moved of their own accord, sliding up his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my fingers. His body was solid, real, grounding me in the moment even as my mind raced with the enormity of what we were about to do.
He pulled me against him with desperation. I was weak still, but he was letting me draw on his strength.
I was aware of the audience behind us—Calla, Jace, Malissa, Auron, and Quinn—but I couldn’t bring myself to care. They would witness this moment.
His mouth brushed mine, tender, filled with leashed hunger,and I felt the spark of our magic merge with the heat of his kiss. Energy rippled between us, a heady, dangerous thing, threading through every touch.
Blake’s fingers whispered down my arm. And then, he whispered, “I am yours. Soul to soul. Breath to breath.” His voice was steady, but his eyes burned with raw emotion.
I felt the words sink into me, binding tighter than any spell. My throat ached as I whispered them back. “I am yours. Soul to soul. Breath to breath.”
Our palms met, our Marks flaring with light as our magic began to wind together. When his lips found mine, I felt the vow begin to solidify between us, and for a moment, there was no fear, no world beyond him: only the two of us, one soul, one breath.
I gasped, my back arching, my magic reacting as if it had a life of its own. The air between us charged. My magic flowed toward him, threading through the air like dark silk.
Blake groaned against me, his lips falling away, forehead pressing to mine. I pulled at him, instinct driving me closer, but the magic was becoming unstable.
The balance between us was tipping.
“Blake.” My voice came out in a shaky gasp, but he didn’t stop. He gritted his teeth and pressed his magic closer, twining us together with something stronger than the thread.
Metal, twisting sharp.
I could feel him losing control, the grip of his power tightening around me like a vise. Our magic was becoming a storm, swirling too fast, too wild, as if it was pushing us to a point we couldn’t come back from.
But—
“Blake,” I whispered. In my mind or out loud, I didn’t know. Something was wrong. I couldfeelit.
“Let me in,” Blake’s voice whispered. “Come to me.”
I tried—again—but there was something off. Enough to have my magic pulling back, even as I forced it forward.
And I felt him, there, inside me—but only for a moment before, like a roaring inferno, everything crashed.
The heat between us grew unbearable, my power surging out of control. I could feel it burning hotter, wilder, overwhelming Blake’s magic. His metal magic was fighting it, pushing back against the flames, trying to shield itself. But it wasn’t working.
Instead, it felt like we were tearing each other apart.
As if from a great distance, I could hear our friends gasp and scream.
I cried out as my body spasmed, my skin alight with flames that weren’t mine to control. Blake’s arms tightened around me, his magic flaring violently in response, but the more we tried to hold on to each other, the worse it became. His metal magic was shredding through me, and my power was burning him.
“Rubi!” Blake’s voice was ragged, desperate. I could feel him trying to pull his magic back, trying to stop the backlash, but it was too late. We were caught in a storm of our own making.
Pain shot through my chest, and I screamed as the power inside me exploded, searing through my veins like molten lava. Blake’s body jerked against mine, his own magic recoiling as it tried to shield him from the heat, but it only made the flames worse. The more we fought it, the more it tore us apart.
“Stop!” I cried, my voice barely audible over the roar of the magic. “Blake, you have to stop!”
But I could feel him. I could feel his mind, his thoughts, his fear. He was trying to shield me, trying to take the pain into himself, and it was killing him. His arms tightened around me, and I saw the way his skin reddened where my power touched him, heard the ragged, agonized sound of his breath.
“No,” I gasped, my vision blurring. “Blake, please, listen to me—”
