Page 113 of House Ignis

I staggered around the corner, my shoulder brushing his. This time he didn't flinch; he just walked beside me like a storm waiting to break. But all I could think about was how close I'd come to burning, to breaking, to losing myself completely.

Asher stopped and caught my wrist gently. I didn't pull away.

"What was that?" he asked, his tone calmer now but edged in concern. "That wasn't just exhaustion, Ava."

I swallowed hard. "I don't know," I said. "Maybe it's the anxiety. Or the bond. Or—everything."

"She's losing control because she has no training. You need to help her, Darkling."

Aether's voice slid into our thoughts before I could say more. Asher's brows rose. He went perfectly still.

"Did he just—did we both hear that?" Asher asked aloud, his eyes wide.

I blinked. "Aether?"

"You're not imagining things," the panther grumbled. "No idea how, but it felt like I could speak to both of you just now. Probably a side effect of your bond getting stronger—and your power being, well, all over the place."

And then—a new voice slithered into my mind. Silken. Dry. Amused.

"Your fire's got bite, princess."

I gasped. "Zya?" I turned toward Asher.

He nodded once, a crooked, stunned grin tugging at his mouth. "Looks like the cats are out of the bag. They're both in on this now."

I looked between our two boundlings, then back at him, stunned. "Is this normal?"

Aether made a noise like a grumble and a sigh had a baby. "With a blood oath? Rare. But it happened—thousands of years ago. Some bonded pairs had boundlings who could all share a mental channel. You two might've just unlocked that frequency."

And then he added, his voice low and grim. "Don't be surprised when the dark one starts slipping into your head too."

"What?" I blinked, horrified. "No. Please, no."

Beside me, Asher let out a slow, satisfied smirk like he'd just been crowned King of Lyr'n'dell.

"Gods, you're enjoying this," I muttered.

"I mean," he said, lifting a shoulder with maddening innocence, "sharing a mind-link? With you? All those spicy thoughts you try to hide? I can't wait, darling."

"I will hex your mouth shut."

Asher just kept smirking, the picture of smug satisfaction.

Gods help me.

"And I blame your unstable hormones," Aether muttered, his mental voice dripping with feline disdain.

"You love me," I shot back, though my voice was still a little thready.

Asher rubbed a hand over his face, muttering something about how this bond was going to be the death of him. But when our eyes met, the irritation was just a thin veil for what lay beneath.

Concern. Raw and jagged.

"Whatever this is," he said slowly, "we need to get ahead of it. You nearly combusted on the field, Ava."

"I know," I whispered, the memory of that white-hot void making my stomach churn.

"You weren't just throwing fire," he went on, his jaw tightening until the bone jumped. "You were pulling too much magic—too fast."