Page 217 of House Ignis

Ezra just smiled, that slow, devastatingly handsome smile I'd seen knock Ember off balance more than once.

He wrapped his arms around her middle, anchoring her against his chest as if she belonged there.

"Possessive male," she murmured, though the bite was gone from her voice as she finally melted into him, leaning her head back against his shoulder.

I watched them, the empty bond still aching in my chest, but their closeness eased some of the darkness.

"So," I rasped, "you two are… what?"

Ember glanced up at him; Ezra looked down at her. He bent and pressed a slow, unapologetic kiss to her temple.

"We're good," he said.

Ember scoffed, though she stayed exactly where she was. "Don't get cocky, Valeor."

"Never," he lied smoothly.

Aether rumbled from beside the bed, his golden eyes flicking between them. “At least they are cute while you sit there emotionally deceased.”

I stared at him. “Thank you, Aether. Your compassion is overwhelming.”

His tail flicked once. “I am here to serve.”

"Asshole," she muttered, turning back to me. "How are you really feeling?"

I exhaled, the truth spilling out.

“Well… other than my bond being gods know how far away and the silence in my head being loud enough to scream? I feel like absolute fucking shit.”

Her eyes softened with understanding. "That's what I figured."

I could only nod, my throat burning with the weight of the two weeks stretching out ahead of me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Later that day, Ezra and Ember walked me back toward House Ignis.

The two of them bickered the whole way, arguing strategy for the upcoming Trials—Ezra insisting on tactical precision while Ember fired back with her usual reckless flair.

Their voices were a constant clash of fire and steel, a noisy, familiar friction that was oddly comforting.

Aether padded beside me, his tail lashing and his golden eyes cutting to me every few steps as if he could sense the storm brewing beneath my skin.

By the time we reached the stairs, my chest already felt tight. I climbed slowly, every step feeling heavier than the last, until finally I pushed open the door to my dorm.

And then it hit me.

His scent.

Smoke, storm-drenched air, and cold shadow.

It clung to the fabrics and the stone like he’d never left, wrapping around me and drowning me in the memory of him.

A sob ripped from my throat before I could stop it.

Ember lingered in the doorway, her earlier fire tempered into something much gentler. She glanced back at Ezra, then at me, her brow furrowed.

“Do you want us to stay?” she asked quietly. “We can stay with you.”