Elara didn't sleep.
The hunger wouldn't let her.
It pressed in slow, relentless waves, sharper than before—angrier. As if it had learned something dangerous.
When Kael entered the chamber, she was already standing.
He paused immediately.
"You're spiraling," he said.
"I'm aware," she replied. "You keep deciding things for me."
His expression hardened. "Because you don't see the edge yet."
She stepped closer.
The bond tightened painfully.
"I see it," she said. "I just don't think you trust me to stand on it."
The hunger surged in response—stronger than she expected.
Kael stiffened.
"You've fed enough tonight."
"You decided that," she said. "Again."
His voice dropped. "Elara, don't."
She didn't raise her hands. Didn't lunge. Didn't beg.
She simply reached.
The hunger answered her call instantly, tugging hard on the bond—demanding.
Kael staggered half a step.
The shock on his face was unmistakable.
"Elara—stop."
She felt it then.
Not just his power.
His resistance.
She was pulling without permission.
The realization sent a thrill of fear—and something dangerously close to exhilaration—through her.
Kael slammed her back against the wall, one arm braced beside her head, heat roaring out of him instinctively.
"That's enough."
The command snapped through the bond like a blade.
The flow cut off violently, leaving her shaking, breath uneven, body aching with sudden emptiness.
Kael stepped back immediately, fists clenched, flames licking his skin as he forced himself into control.
"You can't do that," he said hoarsely. "You can't take." mm
Elara pushed herself upright, eyes burning. "Then stop keeping me half-starved."
"I'm keeping you alive."
"No," she whispered. "You're keeping me manageable."
The words struck hard.
For a long moment, Kael said nothing.
Then, softly: "Hell will tear you apart if they see you like this."
The hunger shifted.
Deepened.
Symbols burned to life along Elara's skin—dark, ancient, responding not to desperation but to choice.
Kael froze.
"You're not just feeding," she said slowly. "I'm becoming something you can't control."
The chamber trembled.
Kael took a step toward her—then stopped.
That hesitation cut deeper than any restraint.
"You should let me leave," she said quietly. "Just once."
"No."
"I need to know who I am without you deciding for me."
His voice lowered, dangerous and intimate. "You won't survive without me."
She swallowed hard—but didn't back down.
"Then let me take that risk."
The bond stretched tight between them, humming painfully with need, fear, possession, and something neither of them was ready to name.
Kael closed his eyes.
When he opened them, resolve had replaced restraint.
"I won't lose you," he said.
Elara's breath caught.
In that moment, she understood.
This wasn't protection anymore.
It was a line drawn in fire.
And whichever of them crossed it first
would change everything.