Page 172 of House Ignis

Then, the grief in Jeremy's eyes curdled into something sharp and bitter.

"With him? Really, Ava?" He let out a harsh, dry laugh. "How fucking low."

I stepped out of his arms, putting a physical distance between us that felt a thousand miles wide.

"I won't say something I'll regret," I said, my voice flat. "Because I know you're hurting."

Jeremy looked at me like I was a ghost—someone he recognized but couldn't touch.

I held his gaze, unblinking. "I choose Asher. And nothing you say will change that."

Behind me, the bond flared—not with heat this time, but with a cold, focused intent.

For the first time all night, Asher moved.

"We're still betrothed, Ava," Jeremy seethed, his voice slicing through the music.

His green eyes blazed with wounded fury.

"You really think I'm going to let you fuck him and then run back to me when he breaks your heart? Because that's what will happen."

He stepped closer, his voice dropping into a lethal whisper.

"You only choose him because of the bond, Ava. You're a puppet. He doesn't actually love you—it's the link talking. He just wants power. He wants your fucking throne, and he's using that tether to mind-fuck you into giving it to him."

My heart faltered, a cold, hollow void opening in my chest.

The throne. The power.

Was I just a means to an end?

Was what I felt for him just a magical side effect?

A sliver of doubt slipped beneath my certainty.

The bond flared—a pulse of dark, wounded heat. It wasn't anger.

It was betrayal.

He’d felt it. That tiny flicker of uncertainty. And the hurt that came back through the bond nearly broke me.

And then I saw him.

Asher didn't run; he walked.

Every step was silent. Controlled. Terrifying.

He stopped directly behind Jeremy, silent as death.

His silver eyes narrowed on Jeremy.

He felt it. He felt my doubt, and in the silence between us, the storm finally broke.

"You're wrong, Eldrethine."

Jeremy’s eyes widened at the coldness in my tone, at the sharp use of his last name. His fingers still bit into my skin.

He froze, his fingers still biting into my skin.