Page 274 of House Ignis

My knees didn't just buckle; they surrendered.

The world tilted on its axis as that single word collided with my senses, igniting every nerve like a strike of lightning.

The sound wrapped around my spine and yanked, and then—the bond.

Gods, the bond.

It slammed back into place with such violent force it stole the very air from my lungs.

It was a chaotic rush of silver and shadow, a warmth I hadn't realized I was freezing without. It was him.

“Asher—” I barely got out, my voice breaking as my body folded in on itself. My heart stuttered, and I doubled over as the force of him crashed through my mind.

The bond wasn’t just back. It was raw. Hungry. And gods, I needed him the way lungs needed air.

I ached. I burned. I wanted—

Him.

“Let’s play a game,” his voice murmured through the bond, dark and dangerously playful.

Dark. Sinister. Controlled.

And then—his emotions hit.

A flood. I lost my footing completely, barely catching myself as it slammed into me— a tidal wave of heat, longing, and desperation. Love. Gods, it was pure, overwhelming love.

I swallowed hard, my breath hitching as a sudden, sharp heat pooled low in my belly. I clenched my fists, trying to find some semblance of gravity as the world around me dissolved into the sensation of him.

“I feel Zya,” Aether muttered, his voice tight with a restraint I had rarely heard from him. “I’m leaving.”

And just like that—he was gone.

He left me standing in the shivering cold of the night, but the air was no match for the bond pulsing like a second heart against my ribs.

It was too loud, too heavy, vibrating through the very marrow of my bones.

“A game?” I sent back.

“Come find me.”

His voice was a silken thread of need, dark and husky as it wound through the connection.

A shiver spiked down my spine, leaving a trail of fire in its wake that scorched the lingering chill of the library.

Fine. If he wanted to be hunted, I would play the predator.

A wicked smile pulled at my lips as I pushed off, my heels striking the stone in a frantic, driving rhythm.

I surrendered to the pull—that sacred, undeniable tether that belonged to us alone—letting it steer my body through the labyrinth of the castle.

“I’m done, thank you!” I tossed the words over my shoulder, a breathless laugh escaping as I blurred past the startled guards. I didn't look back.

I didn't think. I simply was. Left, right, a blind sprint down the marble corridor—I followed the ache in my chest, and gods… the power of it was intoxicating.

The thrill was a fever in my blood. The chase, the sheer speed of it, made the bond pull tauter with every pounding step I took.

“Mm,” his voice hummed through the connection, a dark vibration of pure satisfaction.