Page 161 of House Ignis

"I found Jules sneaking through the back corridors of House Ignis. She wouldn't stop rambling about you two playing detective—hunting down some miracle cure for Ryven."

My heart stuttered. "The antidote!" I shouted through the bond, since the physical world was currently muffled by his shadows. "Jules found it—it had to be tonight!"

I sent a silent prayer to the gods that Jules had kept the rest to herself. If he knew about the hidden chamber—if he knew we had found Veyari text and that Jax was writing in the language of the Shadow-dwellers—he wouldn't just be angry.

He'd lock me in this tower and swallow the key.

He rolled his neck slowly, like he was physically restraining himself from tearing something apart.

"Ezra already handled it," he muttered, his gaze dropping to my mouth. "I sent him to follow Jules' trail while I tracked yours. Ember went with him. They retrieved the flowering bud."

My eyes widened in the dim light. "Ryven?"

"He's stable," Asher confirmed, though his tone remained iron-cold. "They got the antidote to him in time. The corruption is... leaving him. It's over."

Relief crashed through me, so intense it left me light-headed, but it was short-lived.

The shadows around my mouth retreated just enough for me to breathe, but they didn't disappear.

“Now,” he said, his voice dropping an octave as he stepped farther between my knees. “Back to you. Defying me.”

I panted, my entire body thrumming with tension.

"Asher…"

"You told me you were studying," he growled, the vibration of his voice rattling my ribs. "You pushed me out of your head. And then you went sneaking off to a gods-damned unsanctioned vault. Alone. With no backup."

His fingers trailed along my jaw before settling beneath my chin, his grip tightening just enough to force me to look at him.

"You nearly died, Ava. If I hadn't felt that blood-spike..."

The bond flared between us, a chaotic mix of desire, fear, and raw territorial possession.

"You're mine, darling," he murmured, and the shadows in the corners of the room seemed to whisper the words back to me. "And next time you think about running into a death trap without me…"

He leaned down, his mouth brushing the shell of my ear, his breath hot against my skin. "I'll tie you to my bed until you learn how to behave."

My thighs clenched instinctively, a treacherous heat pooling at my center. Gods. He had me ruined, and the smug, dark look in his eyes told me he knew exactly how much power he held.

Then he stood up. With a sharp flick of his wrist, the shadows in the room surged.

I gasped as my wrists were suddenly hauled high above my head, pinned by their silken weight.

My ankles were pulled tight against the edges of the lounge, my thighs forced open and bared to his predatory gaze.

He didn't move at first. He just watched me, his eyes traveling over every inch of my flushed skin. Then he moved behind the head of the lounge.

I couldn't see him anymore, but I felt him.

Every hair on my body stood up as his presence loomed over me from the darkness, the scent of rain and spice thick enough to drown in.

His breath ghosted across my neck. His magic rolled over my skin, making me tremble before he even touched me.

I trembled, heat already slicking between my legs before he even laid a finger on me.

“Hmm, you wicked little thing.” Asher’s voice was deep and lazy behind me, vibrating through the back of the lounge.

"You like this, don't you? Being held. Being seen."