Chapter 3

Ember

“I can feel you thinking.” I muttered, pacing the floor.

Orion leaned against the doorway of the old rundown house we had taken shelter in, arms crossed, eye on the storm outside. The place smelled of mildew and the moisture was thick in the air. His silhouette looked carved from smoke- motionless, but full of coiled energy, like if I blinked he would disappear.

“ I dont think,” he said. “ I calculate.”

“Fine. Calculate faster I want this gone.”

He tunred, expression unreadable “ You think I dont?”

The tether between us hummed with tension. I had tried to run from him earlier, down an alley, but the second I had crossed some invisible line, the pain had lanced through me like a blade. He staggered too. It wasn’t just a bond, it was a curse.

“We weren’t supposed to connect like this,” he said at last. “You stepped on a rune meant to anchor power. I tried to pull you out before it triggered, but the rune didn’t just recognize your power. It recognized mine, and it forced them together.” He let out a bitter laugh. “Not the first time I have been tied to someone I didn’t choose.”

I hesitated. “You mean… her?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he pushed off the wall and started grabbing his coat and gear.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“We’re going to break it.”

“You know how?”

“There is a place on the north end of the city, past the collapsed quarter. A temple that predates Sariyah’s reign here. it’s old, sacred and half-rotten. It’s where the portal orignally opened. No one uses it anymore because its dangerous. Wild magic clings to walls just as much as the mold does.”

“So why go there?”

He glanced at me, eyes darker than usual. “Beccause wild magic is the only kind strong enough to undo wild magic. The bond wasn’t forged by clean lines and chants. It was a gut reaction of two powers colliding in the wrong place at the wrong time. If there’s anywhere we have a chance at tearing this thing out at the root, its there”

“What if it doesn’t work?” I asked

He shrugged. “Then we get to be roommates until one of us dies. My money is on you.”

I glared. “That’s not funny.”

“Wasn’t a joke.”

I followed him through the shattered archway of the temple ruins because I had not other choice. Now wherever he went, I felt like I was being dragged by an invisible hook buried inside my chest.

The moment I stepped across the threshold I soubled over with nausea. The tether between us stretched taut, pulling at something intangible and soul-deep.

“Do you really think this will work?” I asked.

“I’m sure I hate this enough to risk whatever may happen.” Orion’s voice wad dry but sharp with an undertone of something else, fear, maybe or loathing I wasn’t sure.

He led me to a circle carved into the stone floor. This place was older even than Celestial Falls itself. Scortch marks marred the outer edges of the sotne floor from a ritual long since forgotten.

“This spot is where the portal originally opened, where the demons entered the realm. Where she came through.” He told me.

“Great.” I said. “So all we have to do is stand in an ancient death circle and hope it doesnt kill us.”

He gave me an exasperated look. “Try not to bleed on anything.”

We stood on opposite sides of the the circle, the tehter between us shimmering like smoke caught in the moonlight. It pulled tight the moment he began the incantation in a language I have never heard before but it caused a stirring inside me that I couldn’t quote place. Like my soul knew the meaning of the words even if I didn’t understand them.

The ground trembled and I flinched as the rune beneathe my feet glowed in tandem with the mark I could feel pulsing just below my collar bone. The same mark I could see glowing beneath Orion’s shirt. A mark that resembled a crescent moon.

“Whatever happens,” he warned. “Don’t move, don’t speak. Don’t feel anything.”

I stiffened. If moving could mess up brejaking this curse, then I would be as stoic as a statue.

The moment the last syllable left his lips , I screamed. The bond pulled tight like a wire about to snap, but instead of breaking it seared. Fire bloomed in my veins, followed by something colder. Shadows. Not mine, but his.

My vision went white for a moment and I saw her. Sariyah, her smile stained in blood, whispering in the same language Orion had used but this time I somehow understood. My name burned on her tongue and just as suddenly, it was over.

The stone in the ritual circle cracked beneath our feet. But the bond? It was still there. Stronger, if anything. Orion fell to his knees, panting. I staggered back clutching my ribs where the tether pulled tight, as if an invisible knife had been driven between us and twisted. Just enough to feel like I was dying but not enough to kill.

“Well,” He said bitterly. “That went well.”

“Why didn’t it break?” I whispered my voice hoarse.

“Because whatever you are;” he said with a disgusted look. “reacted to a blood magic more ancient than even me and now, we’re stuck.”

I didn’t ask for this. To be the girl that was left behind. To be the one cursed to with a power I couldn’t name, and a man who hated me tethered to my very soul. As I looked at him, shadows curled at his back like wings, I felt something strange in my chest. Not affection. Not trust. Just recognition.

I didn’t know what I expected af ter the ritual failed. Pain, maybe. Fire or some sort of divine punishment. Instead, there was just silence and the unmistakeable thrum of a bond that refused to die.

Orion walked away from the temple like he couldn’t stand to be mear me. I followed, never far enough for the tether between us to tighten. His shadows still brushed the edges of my mind, a dark whisper on my skin I couldn’t shake.

He led us to a rocky ridge overlooking the city. The wind howled up from the cliffs, cold and as sharp.

“This is as good a place as any.” he said, turning around and dropping to sit on a boulder nearby. “We need to talk.”

“I thought we were avoiding that.” I sneered. “Sorry but I could do without a heart-to-heart with the man who dragged me into a binding curse.”

He raised a brow. “Dragged you? Darling, dont flatter yourself, you leapt onto that rune like you were swan diving into eternal damnation. I just tried to stop you from combusting.”

I crossed my arms. “You touched me.”

“You touched ancient magic.” He shot back. “I’m not a damn lightning rod.”

“Well congratulations, because now we are shackled in some sort of cursed wedding.”

He smirked, trouble laced with charm. “Well, Flame, the honeymoon is off to a great start. Tell me when do we get to the fun part?”

“Stop it.” I snapped. “Stop calling me Flame. Stop acting like this is all some twisted joke.”

His smile faded some but not completely. “Why? The look on your face is half the fun.”

I turned away, jaw tight and angry tears welling up in my eyes. The bond hummed in my chest, warm and unwanted.

He sighed behind me. “Look, I know this isn’t ideal-”

“Ideal? You think I wanted this? The man I love was taken by a monster in a dress and now I am stuck with a walking shadow who calls me pet names as if we are playing house.”

“You’re the one that started glowing. I didn’t expect to be bound to a human flamethrower with a savior complex, but here we are. I know you aren’t as upset by this as you would like me to think. Remember I feel your thoughts, your fears and your desires.” The last bit he spit out as if it were some type of slur.

I whirled on him. “Don’t pretend like you know me, you don’t know anything about me.”

“Maybe not,” He said. “But I know what this type of magic is.” He stood slowly, brushing off invisible dust. “You triggered something in that square. Not just the bond. Something bigger, and the temple confirmed it. You and I, we’re tied by something ancient.”

I stared at him and then looked away. The wind was rising. My fire flickered just under my skin desperate to be let free.

“So now what?” I asked, voice tight. “We’re stuck together? Forever?”

He shrugged. “Unless you know another ancient ruin hiding a forbidden ritual written in blood? Yeah, pretty much.”

I sank onto the edge of the cliff, dragging my fingers through my hair. “Bastion’s still out there.”

“I know.”

“And you’re still helping me?”

“For now.” His voice was light but something flickered behind it.

I looked at hin again, Really looked this time. He wore his arrogance like armor, but I could see the cracks in it now. The places where the shadows didn’t quite hide the scars.

“Why?” I asked

His smile returned, slow and easy. “Because I’m bored. And because if you burn down the world, I will be the only man left for you to woo with your wonderous charms.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re insufferable.”

“And you’re still glowing.” He pointed to the space between us “By the way, the bond is pulsing like a jealous ex. Might want to keep your rage in check.”

I stood and dusted off my hands. “Fine, we do this your way, for now.”

“Sure thing, Flame.”

I swore under my breath, and I could hear Orion laughing behind me.