Aurelia had seen danger before. She had lived her entire life dodging it, sensing it, surviving it
But nothing, not even the forest wolves with their silver fangs, had ever made her instincts scream the way Draven did as he stepped onto the balcony.
He looked carved from the shadows themselves. Broad shoulders, sharp eyes, a smile that promised trouble and pleasure in the same breath. And beneath it all, a pulse of darkness she didn't understand but felt deep in her bones.
He wasn't just looking at her.
He was tasting her.
Kael's arm shifted slightly in front of her, shielding her like a barricade of cold iron. His voice was low, lethal.
"You're not taking another step toward her."
Draven tilted his head. "You felt it. I know you did."
"Back away," Kael said.
Draven ignored him.
His eyes slid to Aurelia, hungry and unashamed.
"What changed, little flame? Your scent is different. Sweeter. Sharper. Like your heartbeat finally decided who it wants."
Aurelia's breath hitched.
Kael growled.
"Don't speak to her like that."
Draven's smile deepened. "Why not? She's ours."
Aurelia stepped back instinctively. Her spine met the cold stone wall. The air thickened. Kael's jaw clenched. Draven watched her retreat like it thrilled him.
"Don't run from me," Draven murmured. "Not unless you want me to chase you."
A jolt burned low in Aurelia's stomach. She hated the way he affected her. Hated the way her body responded, heated, tightened, as if sensing something primal in him
Kael took a step forward, blocking her view of Draven entirely.
"You will control yourself," Kael said tightly. "Or I will make you."
Draven laughed softly. "You think you can fight instinct? Her bond is waking up, Kael. Every time her heart picks up, every time she feels something, every time she looks at one of us, we feel it."
He slid his gaze past Kael's shoulder, straight into Aurelia's eyes.
"All of us."
Her breath trembled.
Kael's voice dropped in a way that made the torches flicker.
"You're frightening her."
"Good," Draven said. "Fear sharpens the bond. And she's glowing with it."
Aurelia's knees felt like water.
Kael turned sharply to her. His voice softened instantly.
"Don't listen to him. He feeds on reactions."
Draven smirked. "I feed on truth."
Kael stiffened.
Draven's eyes glowed brighter. "Tell me, Aurelia. Earlier… when Kael touched you, even for that moment… what did it feel like?"
A flush crawled up her neck. "That's none of your business."
"Oh, but it is," Draven said, stepping closer, voice velvet over steel. "It tells me how fast the bond is weaving into your blood."
Kael moved to block him again, but Draven's smile sharpened.
"You can't keep her from us forever."
Kael's jaw ticked. "I can keep her from you."
For the first time, irritation flickered in Draven's expression. "You don't get to claim her."
Kael stepped forward. "I'm protecting her."
"From what?" Draven asked, eyes narrowing. "From me? Or from yourself?"
A muscle in Kael's cheek twitched.
Draven saw it.
And smiled like he'd won something.
"That's what I thought," Draven murmured. "You feel it too. The pull. The heat. The bite of it."
Kael didn't deny it.
Aurelia's heart raced painfully. She didn't know who to trust. She didn't know what she wanted. All she knew was that something inside her was changing, stretching, waking, and these men felt it like wolves scenting blood.
Draven inhaled slowly.
"There it is," he whispered. "Your heartbeat just jumped."
Aurelia pressed her back harder into the wall, fists clenched.
"Stop watching my heartbeat."
"I can't," Draven said simply. "It's calling me."
Kael's voice snapped like a whip. "Draven."
Draven paused, head tilting.
"Fine. I'll behave."
He stepped back a single step, but it wasn't kindness. It was calculation.
Then he looked at Aurelia again.
"But you should know something, little flame."
Aurelia swallowed. "What?"
Draven's smile was slow and dangerous.
"The bond doesn't care who touches you first. It cares who you answer."
She shivered.
Kael glared. "Leave."
Draven's eyes glimmered with amber heat as he turned away.
But before he disappeared through the doorway, he added softly:
"And Kael… you should tell her the rest. Before she learns it from me."
Kael froze.
Aurelia felt her stomach twist.
"What rest?" she asked.
Kael didn't answer.
Draven laughed and vanished into the shadows, his voice echoing down the corridor.
"She doesn't know what happens when the bond chooses.
The balcony fell silent.
Cold moonlight washed over the stone.
Aurelia stared at Kael.
"Tell me," she whispered.
Kael's eyes closed for a moment, as if steadying himself.
Then he opened them.
And what she saw there made her heart stop.
Fear.
Real fear.
"Aurelia," he said quietly. "If the bond completes… you won't belong to one of us."
Her breath stilled.
"You will belong to all four."
Aurelia's world tilted.
Kael stepped closer, voice low and steady.
"And the princes will not just desire you."
His gaze darkened with something she had never seen before.
"They will need you."
Her pulse raced painfully.
"Kael…" she whispered.
His voice dropped to something dangerous and soft.
"I told you. This is only the beginning."
The wind shifted.
The forest below rustled like something ancient was turning in its sleep.
Kael reached out as if to steady her, then stopped himself before touching her.
"Aurelia," he said, his voice rough, "you need to understand something before the others come."
She swallowed. "What?"
His eyes locked onto hers.
"You are not safe. Not from them."
He hesitated.
"And not from me."
The forest howled in the distance.
Aurelia's heartbeat answered it.