The night outside the sanctuary was unnervingly still, as if the world held its breath after witnessing what happened between Lucien and Elara.
Inside, the silence hummed with tension—charged, trembling, alive.
Lucien hadn't moved since he whispered those devastating words:
"You will be the end of me."
Now he stood by the window, staring into the moonlit courtyard as though afraid to look at her again. His shoulders were rigid, his jaw clenched tight, barely holding himself together.
Elara sat on the edge of the long wooden table, watching him. Every shift of his breath echoed faintly in her chest through the bond. Every ripple of his emotions brushed her like wind across her skin.
He was trying to push her out.
And the bond was refusing to let him.
"Lucien," she said gently.
"You don't have to run from me."
His fingers curled into fists at his sides.
"I'm not running," he said, though his voice betrayed him—hoarse, strained. "I'm trying to protect you."
"From what?" she asked softly.
He turned a fraction, shadows cutting sharp across his face.
"From me."
Her heart twisted.
"How many times must I tell you," she whispered, "you are not the danger you think you are?"
He laughed—quiet, bitter.
"Elara, you don't even understand what's waking inside of you, let alone what it's doing to me."
He finally faced her.
His eyes burned a dark, tormented crimson.
"You opened a seal older than the kingdom itself. Your blood awakened something in that chamber. And now our bond isn't just emotional or spiritual."
He took a step toward her.
"It's physical. Magical. Ancient. It's binding us in ways neither of us can undo."
Her breath caught.
She already felt it—the pull, the ache, the way her heartbeat sometimes synced with his.
But the more he spoke, the more she realized…
There was something he hadn't told her.
"What aren't you saying?" she asked.
Lucien hesitated.
Then, slowly, he extended his hand.
"Elara. Come here."
Her pulse jumped.
But she rose and walked toward him, feeling the bond tighten with each step.
When she reached him, he didn't touch her.
He simply looked into her face—searching, desperate.
"Close your eyes," he whispered.
She did.
And the world shifted.
Suddenly, warmth pooled at her core.
Light rippled outward from her chest, through her veins, across her skin.
She gasped as the sensation intensified.
"What—what is this?"
Lucien's voice was barely a breath.
"You're feeling it too now."
The bond.
But not like before.
This time, it wasn't just warmth—
it was fire.
Power.
Light intertwining with shadow, threads of magic weaving between their souls.
She felt Lucien's heartbeat.
His breath.
His longing.
His fear.
His hunger—raw, ancient, restrained only by his iron will.
She stepped back with a choked gasp, her eyes flying open.
"Lucien…"
He stood perfectly still—
like a man chained with invisible bonds, using every ounce of strength not to reach for her.
"This," he said quietly, "is why I tried to distance myself."
Her lips trembled.
The intensity of what she just felt was overwhelming—deep, intimate, impossible to deny.
"That connection," he continued, "isn't normal. It's the sign of a completed ancient binding."
Her breath stilled.
"Completed?" she whispered. "But—we didn't—"
"No," he said quickly, "not in the physical sense. But the seal you broke… the magic inside you reacted to me. It bound us the moment your blood touched the glyph."
Silence crashed between them.
He took a slow, pained breath.
"Elara… we are soul-bound."
Her heart thundered.
"I—I don't understand."
"Our lives, emotions, and power are intertwined now," Lucien said. His voice shook despite his effort to steady it.
"If you die… I die.
If you suffer… I feel it.
If your power grows… so does mine.
If mine breaks loose… it drags you with it."
She stared at him, shock rippling through her.
"Lucien… you should have told me."
"I didn't want to frighten you."
"Well, it's frightening to learn it now!" she snapped—then instantly felt a sharp sting of pain in her own chest.
Lucien flinched, mirroring the same pain.
Her anger evaporated, replaced with horror.
"Oh gods—did you feel that?"
He nodded.
"Elara… you must stay calm. Strong emotions can hurt us both."
"Then how are we supposed to argue?" she asked helplessly.
"We aren't," he whispered.
Her knees weakened. "Lucien…"
He moved swiftly, catching her before she could fall.
Her palms landed on his chest, and the bond roared to life—hot and electric—sending shivers through her entire body.
He stiffened, jaw clenched, breath unsteady.
"Elara… don't… move…" he warned through gritted teeth.
"Why?"
"Because," he managed, "I'm losing the ability to think."
Something swelled in her chest—fear, longing, relief, confusion—all tangled.
"Lucien… look at me."
He did.
And in that moment, the world fell away.
She saw everything reflected in his eyes—
the torment he carried,
the desire he tried to bury,
the fear of losing her,
the battle between wanting her and protecting her.
"Lucien," she whispered, "what do we do now?"
He cupped her cheek with trembling fingers.
"We survive," he said softly. "Together. Whether the gods planned this bond… or cursed it."
Her breath trembled as his touch warmed her skin.
"Then we'll survive," she whispered. "No matter what comes."
His expression shifted—just enough for her to see hope break through the darkness.
But the moment shattered as the sanctuary door burst open.
Both of them jerked around, the bond flaring in alarm.
A hooded messenger stumbled inside, panting.
"Your—Your Majesty!" he gasped, falling to his knees before Lucien.
"There's a situation—urgent—grave—"
Lucien's voice was cold steel.
"Speak."
The messenger lifted terrified eyes.
"The Council of Shadows has declared the Healer"—he pointed at Elara, trembling—
"a threat to the kingdom."
Elara's blood iced.
"What?"
"And they demand her immediate capture."
Lucien froze.
The room went silent.
Then—
A darkness unlike anything Elara had ever felt poured from him, swallowing the air, thickening the shadows. His crimson eyes turned feral—deadly.
He stepped forward, voice dripping with lethal promise.
"They dare," he hissed, "to threaten what is mine?"
The bond flared, burning hot.
Elara's breath caught.
Not because she feared him.
But because she felt the truth in his rage.
Lucien was done running.
And he was done letting anyone take her away from him.
The room shook as his power surged.
"Lucien," she whispered, reaching for him.
He grabbed her hand instantly, grounding himself—but his voice remained a storm.
"They want war?"
His eyes glowed like burning coals.
"Then I will give them war."