Page 126 of House Ignis

The tunnel sloped downward, damp stone walls pressing close as our footsteps echoed softly in the silence. Aether padded beside me, his luminous golden eyes scanning the gloom, while Zya's form blended into the darkness just ahead as if she were a part of the shadows themselves.

Asher's fingers were still tangled with mine, his grip steady and grounding.

The silence settled around us, but the bond between us buzzed—a low, insistent vibration that refused to be silenced.

"Back there," I said softly, the damp air carrying my voice. "You looked at me like…"

"Like I wanted to slam you against a tree and ruin you?" he offered, his voice dropping into a dark, amused register.

"Exactly like that," I muttered, my cheeks heating.

He chuckled, the sound vibrating through the bond. "Can you blame me?"

I shot him a glare, but it lacked any real bite.

"You know the bond is getting worse, right?" I whispered. "Harder to ignore."

"Not worse," he said, stopping abruptly to face me. "Stronger." His gaze held mine, unwavering and intense. "I feel you, Ava. Every heartbeat. Every flicker of thought. And sometimes—" he took a slow step closer, his voice dropping to a rasp, "—I think I can hear your magic breathing."

I swallowed hard. Gods.

"How do you handle it?" I asked, my voice barely a breath.

Asher tilted his head, his shadows dancing across his collarbone in the dim light. "I don't."

The tunnel curved again, the walls narrowing as we stepped into a deeper, more oppressive shadow. And just like that—the bond surged.

A wave of emotions rippled through me. Heat, longing, confusion… and guilt. I felt fucking guilty, the weight of it heavy in my chest.

Asher slowed, turning toward me. His brow furrowed, his shadows twitching at his shoulders as he read the shift in my energy. "You regret it?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"No." I shook my head, my heart hammering. "I don't. I want it. I need it." I bit my lip, trying to anchor myself. "But we agreed. Strictly sex."

His jaw clenched, and for a heartbeat, the air in the narrow passage turned arctic. The temperature plummeted so fast my breath came out in a thick plume of white. Asher didn't just step forward—he prowled, his movements liquid and lethal.

"Jeremy."

The name slipped from my lips like a death knell.

The bond didn't just surge; it shattered. A wave of pure, unadulterated territorial fury slammed into me, so potent it made my knees buckle. Asher's eyes didn't just darken—the silver vanished entirely, replaced by two pits of roiling, obsidian shadow that seemed to swallow what little light remained in the tunnel.

He moved in a blur. Before I could blink, he had me pinned against the damp stone wall, his hands slamming into the rock on either side of my head. The impact jarred my spine, but I was frozen, trapped between the cold stone and the furnace of his body.

"Don't," he hissed, his voice no longer entirely human. It was a layered, echoing growl that vibrated through the marrow of my bones. "Don't you dare bring his name into this space. Not while you still carry my shadows. Not while the bond is screaming for more, and not while I can still taste you."

His shadows erupted, coiling around us like a physical cage, lashing out against the tunnel walls in jagged, violent strikes.

The pressure was suffocating and intoxicating all at once. Through the link, I felt his control snap like a dry twig.

It wasn't just jealousy; it was a primal, ancient possession that turned my blood to molten lead.

He leaned down, his face inches from mine, his nose brushing against my temple. I could feel the frantic, heavy thud of his heart against my chest.

"You think this is just sex, Ava?" he rasped, his teeth grazing the shell of my ear. "You think you can just go back to him and pretend I didn't reach inside your soul and set it on fire?"

He gripped my chin, forcing my eyes to stay locked on his dark, void-like gaze.

"Look at me," he commanded, his shadows tightening their grip around my wrists, pinning them to the stone. "Tell me you want him. Tell me you feel his magic breathing when he touches you. Tell me, and I'll let you go."