Then it’s gone, replaced by the same calculated calm that infuriates me.
“Yes,” he says, his voice low and dangerous. “We’re stuck together until it’s broken, and it’s probably not breakable. But even if we can break it, you’re still in danger. You’re making this difficult. Accept your place with me and let’s see what we can do. Together. I won’t let anyone take you from me. Just. Choose. Me.”
I shake my head, turning away from him. My thoughts are a tangled mess, and I can’t seem to untangle them. The room feels too small, too suffocating, and I’m acutely aware of the ebon chain’s pull, binding me to him in ways I can’t escape.
“I’m not a possession.”
“I don’t see you as a one,” he says, his voice steady as his eyes flash, and for the first time, I see his composurecrack. “And if you think that’s what this is about, then you’re underestimating both of us. You think this is about control and power?”
I freeze, deciding I’m not going to tell him that’s exactly what I think and the pain that bursts through me is beyond excruciating. It burns hotter than an inferno as it steals my breath, rendering me useless in a matter of seconds. The ebon chain lashes out like a living thing, tightening like a vice around my chest. My knees buckle, and the air rushes from my lungs. I gasp, clawing at the invisible force constricting me.
Kade is on me in an instant, his hands gripping my shoulders. His expression is wild, panic flashing in his eyes. “You need to do what it wants, Zara. For both of us. It’ll keep hurting you until you give it what it wants.”
I try to hold out, but the pressure is unbearable. The chain pulses, sending shockwaves through my body and it feels as though it’s burrowing into my soul, twisting, tightening, suffocating me.
Kade’s hand moves to my face, tilting my chin up so I have no choice but to meet his gaze. His eyes are fierce, molten with intensity and I want to scream at him, to tell him that this is his fault, that he’s the reason I’m bound in this cursed way. But I can’t form the words, and all I do is nod.
“I can’t…” My voice is barely a whisper.
“You can.” His grip tightens and the pain surges again.
“That’s exactly what you want,” I spit as the blood weave forces me to tell the truth.
For a fraction of a second, vulnerability flickers across Kade’s face. It’s gone so quickly I might have imagined it, but it leaves me unsettled, an ache blooming in the hollow of my chest.
“I can’t do this, Kade, because you killed my coven and I can’t trust you not to hurt me. Not when all you want is powerand control. Not when all you do is hurt and maim.”
And then Kade collapses, curling into a ball as the chain’s magic strikes him over and over, bearing down like thunder and lightning in a storm. His body trembles, muscles spasming as if the pain is tearing him apart from the inside.
I try to shift toward him, my instinct to help overrides the burning resentment, but the chain pulls taut, locking me in place. Whatever he’s holding back, whatever it is that he isn’t saying, needs to be said, and Kade won’t be released from the pain of the blood weave until he gives in.
“Kade,” I say, my voice shaking despite myself.
He doesn’t answer. His jaw clenches, teeth bared as if he fights the same battle I fought and lost, trying to hold back whatever it is he doesn’t want to tell me. The silence stretches until I can’t bear it anymore.
“You’re wounding yourself, Kade.”
“I know…”
“Then give it what it wants,” I whisper.
Kade’s eyes snap to mine, burning with a mixture of defiance and desperation. “You think it’s that simple?” he snarls, his voice hoarse. “You think I can just…” He breaks off, a groan of pain tearing from his throat as the chain pulses again, magic clawing at him like it’s ripping apart his very being.
His chest heaves, his breaths ragged as he fights the pull of the chain’s magic. For a moment, I think he’ll lash out again, that his stubbornness will cost him everything.
But then his shoulders slump, the fight draining out of him. “Fine,” he growls through gritted teeth.
He looks at me, the weight of his gaze pinning me in place more effectively than the chain ever could.
“I want you to choose me,” he says, the words rough and uneven like they’re being dragged from the depths of him. “Not because of the weave, but because you want to. I don’t know how to do this and I don’t know how to care, but I know I care about you and I don’t know what to do with that, except make you feel the same.”
The ebon chain loosens slightly, the pressure easing just enough for him to breathe. My chest tightens as I stare at him, his vulnerability laid bare in a way I’ve never seen before. He’s not just confessing; he’s unraveling, piece by jagged piece.
“Kade…” My voice falters as I forget what I was going to say.
The chain shimmers faintly, its glow dimming as though it, too, is waiting for what happens next.
“I care, Zara,” Kade says, his tone quieter now, almost broken. “Now, if it’s not too much trouble, could we get the fuck into bed so I can hold you?”
