Page 218 of House Ignis

I shook my head, a bone-deep exhaustion settling into my chest. “No. I just… I need a minute. Alone.”

Ember studied me like she hated the answer but respected it. After a beat, she gave a small, reluctant nod.

Ezra stepped closer, his hands shoved into the pockets of his sweatpants, those sunset-orange eyes sharp. “We’ll be right next door,” he said, his voice a firm tether. “If you need anything. Anything at all, Ava.”

I huffed a weak, watery laugh. “I’m sure you will be.”

A corner of his mouth lifted in a knowing smirk. Ember rolled her eyes, already turning to head toward her bedroom.

Ezra gave me one of his signature, cocky salutes and followed her down the hall.

Then I slid down the door until I was huddled on the floor, burying my face in my hands as I sobbed.

At first, it was just soundless, broken breaths—the kind that feel like they’re ripping your chest open from the inside.

Then, I reached for him. It was a reflex.

Pure instinct.

I reached for my bond.

And there was nothing.

No warmth.

No shadows brushing like silk against my skin.

No wicked, deep-timbred grin purring in the back of my mind. There was only silence—vast, hollow, and cold, stretching across the continent like a canyon carved into my very soul.

My sobs grew louder, turning into jagged, ugly sounds.

I clawed at the front of Ezra’s hoodie as if I could rip my chest open and find Asher hiding there.

Gods, anything was better than this emptiness.

“Asher,” I whispered into the void, my voice raw and ruined. “Please. Just—something. Give me anything.”

Nothing answered.

The silence felt like its own kind of death.

It was worse than almost losing him to Jeremy, worse than the shadows that had nearly consumed him on the field.

Because this… this felt like being unmade.

Aether padded over, his massive form silhouetted against the moonlight streaming through the window, and lowered himself onto the floor beside me.

He didn't just sit; he curled his entire body around mine, a solid wall of fur and muscle and ancient power.

His tail draped over my legs, grounding me, and he rested his heavy head near my shoulder.

I could feel the low, steady vibration of his breathing, a rhythmic tether to reality.

“I am here,” he murmured through the bond, his golden eyes glowing in the dim light. “The Dark One is gone for now, but the abyss is not empty. You are not alone in the dark, Flame One.”

I reached out, burying my shaking fingers into his thick fur, clinging to him like a liferaft.

His presence steadied me, but it couldn't fill the place Asher had left behind. Nothing could.