Page 26 of House Ignis

His golden eyes were blown wide with a panic I had never felt from him—hackles raised, chest heaving.

He began prowling in tight, furious circles around me, his claws clicking sharply against the wood as if he were counting my every breath.

"I'm here," he rasped through the bond, his mental voice rough and shaking with a restrained, murderous rage.

He sniffed the air sharply, his ears flattening against his skull.

"Gods, little one… are you hurt? What happened?"

"I'm fine," I snapped, though my voice trembled. My palms still burned with the remnants of my restrained flame.

"Where were you?"

Aether's tail lashed once, then again, sparks cracking against the stone like tiny whips.

"Zorian's damn boundling cornered me," he snarled, his lips curling back to reveal ivory fangs. "Picked a fight. And I swear he used something—a potion, a rune, something that shouldn't exist. It severed the bond. I couldn't reach you."

Ice slid down my spine, cooling the fire in my blood. I turned to Ember, my throat feeling raw and stripped.

"He was cut off. Zorian must've used his boundling to block us. It was a blackout."

Ember's green eyes flared, actual fire licking at her irises.

"He fucked with a soul-bond?"

I swallowed, the realization settling heavy and cold in my chest.

"He did."

Her expression shifted instantly. The shock vanished, replaced by a lethal, calculating fury.

"He planned it," she whispered, her voice dangerous.

"Gods, Ava… that bastard planned the whole thing. He isolated you."

"I'm calling the Headmaster," Ember snapped, already turning toward the door. "No—your father. The King will have his head for this."

Rage poured off her in visible waves.

Luna mirrored her perfectly, the flames along her spine surging until they licked at the air, bright and violent.

She was halfway to the door when I stumbled in front of her, blocking her path.

"Ember, stop." My voice was quiet, but it sliced through the room like a blade.

She froze, her chest heaving, her eyes hot enough to reduce the entire wing to cinders. "He hurt you, Ava! He laid hands on the heir!"

"I know," I said, the words tasting like ash.

"But we can't just cry to the throne because we're royalty. Remember the target on our backs? This is exactly the kind of 'fragile princess' drama they're waiting for. If we run to my father now, Zorian wins the political game."

Ember's jaw flexed, heat lightning flashing behind her eyes. "So we just let him get away with it?"

"No. We handle it our way. Smart. Controlled. We let him be the one who loses control in public—it'll look worse on him when the fallout hits."

For a heartbeat, I thought she'd shove past me anyway. Then she dragged in a long, shuddering breath and forced the fire down.

"Okay. Fine," she muttered, though the anger still simmered just beneath her skin. "But we watch him. If he even breathes in your direction, he's done."