Behind me, the sound of wood cracking splits the air, sharp and violent enough to cut through distance. The noise yanks my attention back toward the house, and something cold settles in my gut.
Inside, Corin reacts before thought can catch up. He moves on instinct as the demon collapses, the force of the fall splintering the floorboards beneath him. Corin reaches him in time, catching his weight before his head can strike the stone, though the effort strains muscles that have only just remembered their strength.
The demon’s form flickers, unstable in a way that contradicts the controlled presence he held moments earlier. Tension locks through his body, and something like pain flashes across his features before he forces it down.
“Distance,” he says, his voice rougher than before.
“What are you talking about?” Corin demands, lowering him carefully.
The demon’s hand snaps out, gripping Corin’s shirt with sudden force. “Where is she?”
The answer comes in fire.
Heat erupts in front of me, tearing through the air with violent force. I stumble back as the space distorts, bending around the sudden intrusion. He appears in front of me not with control, but with a fractured intensity that sets every nerve in my body on edge.
For the first time, he looks strained.
“What did you do?” I demand.
“You crossed a boundary,” he replies, his voice tight.
“I went for a walk.”
“You disrupted the tether.”
Understanding lands with sharp clarity.
I look at him, then back toward the house, then at him again as the pieces align.
“You’re telling me that me walking away from you made you collapse.”
“I am telling you that distance affects the stability of the bond.”
“And that bond affects you.”
“Yes.”
The implication settles heavily.
“You’re tethered to me,” I say.
“We are tethered to each other,” he corrects.
I glance past him and see Corin in the doorway, watching us with an expression that has shifted from confusion to understanding. The realization in his eyes is not subtle, and it sends a sharp, complicated ache through my chest.
I turn back to the demon. “I want to see the contract.”
“No.”
The refusal comes too quickly.
My temper snaps. “You don’t get to say no anymore.”
“That is not how this works.”
“That is exactly how this works now,” I fire back. “You said the terms changed.”
“They did.”
