Page 89 of House Ignis

My hips swayed with an instinctive, heavy pull I couldn't control. The air around the dais was thick, warped by a magic so old it felt like it was written in the marrow of the world.

Ignis, give me strength.

I reached him, stepping into his space until the scent of the coming storm drowned out the incense. Jules stood behind him, her human soul vibrating with reverence, but I only had eyes for the male in front of me.

Asher smirked—that same, infuriatingly arrogant curve of his lips that had haunted me since day one. But behind the smirk, his eyes were dark with a hunger that wasn't a game.

Aether sat at my side, golden eyes fixed on Zya. Neither boundling blinked. The world outside the temple ceased to exist. There was only the fire, the blood, and the silver of his gaze.

I looked up, staring straight into those pools of molten silver, and let the heat consume me.

"Gods, darling," he murmured, reaching out to take my hand. His fingers curled around mine with a gentleness so deliberate it made my breath hitch. "I have never been more honored."

Before the heat in my cheeks could ignite, Jules's voice rang out from the ceremonial podium, clear and hauntingly otherworldly.

"Ava Pyreson and Asher Maddox, take your seats. Face one another. Witnesses, take your places. The ritual begins."

My heart pounded like thunder trapped beneath my skin. My hands shook as I moved, the gold silk of my skirt whispering against the cold marble.

"Easy, Firecracker," Asher murmured, his voice a low vibration. "Don't burn the temple down before we're even legal."

As I sat, his shadows surged. They curled up the length of my spine, slipping beneath the hair at the nape of my neck like cool, sentient smoke. I nearly moaned. It didn't just soothe me; it lit a predatory fire in my gut that had no business stirring during a sacred rite.

A deep, guttural growl rumbled from Asher's chest—feral, low, and hungry. My thighs clenched on instinct. "For the love of Ignis, behave," Aether grumbled down the bond, but his voice felt a thousand miles away.

I sat cross-legged directly in front of Asher, our knees inches apart. Behind him, Ezra and Ryven stood in their ceremonial whites, wearing identical, knowing smiles. I glanced back at Maddy and Ember; they looked radiant, their expressions blazing with a fierce, protective pride.

"You're not fine," Aether muttered. "But I am begging you to try."

As I settled, the sheer fabric of my ritual skirt rode up, pooling in soft, translucent folds around my hips. My golden lace underwear was all but on display, and I could feel the scorching weight of Asher's stare. His eyes flicked down, tracking the line of my thigh, before snapping back to mine with a silver intensity that made me feel naked.

Jules stepped forward, the sacred scroll held in both hands. The air in the temple grew heavy, saturated with the weight of the ancient magic descending upon us.

"We begin with the sacred vow," she announced, her voice echoing off the vaulted stone. "These words are binding. Once spoken, the threads of fate are woven."

She turned her gaze to Asher. "Asher Maddox, do you accept the role of blood guardian to Ava Pyreson, Heir of Zymarra, Flame of the Realm? Do you swear to protect her with your body, your blood, and your very soul?"

Asher's gaze didn't waver. Not for a heartbeat.

"I do," he said, his voice a low, unshakable vow. "I swear my soul, my body, and my magic. I swear to protect her in this life and the next."

Jules's expression remained grave. "Do you understand the law of this binding? That should she fall, your life ends with hers, your spirit tied to her eternally? That you will feel her pain, hear her call, and carry her weight in all things? But should you fall, the bond is severed—she survives, though the scar remains."

A beat of suffocating silence stretched between us. I searched his face for a flicker of doubt, a sign that he'd realize the gravity of tying his life to a girl with a target on her back. I expected him to smirk, to crack a joke, to walk away.

But he didn't even blink.

"I understand," he said firmly, the words resonant with a dark, absolute certainty. "And I accept."

The heat beneath my skin coiled like living fire, matching the silver storm in his eyes. He wasn't just taking an oath; he was claiming a destiny.

Jules turned to me, her eyes reflecting the orange roar of the braziers. "Ava Pyreson, do you accept the blood binding of Asher Maddox? Do you accept his protection and the risks it brings? Do you bind him to you, as Queen and soul-bearer, by flame, flesh, and fate?"

The knot in my throat felt like a physical weight. I forced the words out.

"I do," I whispered, my voice trembling but certain. "I accept him. I bind him."

"Then we move to the second phase," Jules announced, her tone shifting into something more visceral. "Lock your limbs."