FAZER LOGIN“You finally said it,” I whispered, my voice softer now, but steadier than before.His grip on me tightened slightly, like he wasn’t willing to take it back, like saying it had settled something in him as much as it had in me.“I should have said it sooner,” he admitted quietly.As I held onto him, something else began to stir beneath my skin.At first, it was a faint warmth, soft. Barely even noticeable.But it didn’t stay that way.It spread slowly, moving through me like a quiet current, seeping into every part of my body until it felt like I was filled with something I couldn’t see, something that had been there all along but had never fully surfaced. My fingers tightened slightly against him as the feeling grew, not painful, not overwhelming, just… present.It felt like something inside me was finally free.The world around us seemed to blur at the edges, the space between us becoming the only thing that felt real as the warmth deepened, wrapping around me, around us, like it be
Our blades clashed once more, but this time it wasn’t about pushing each other back. It wasn’t about proving who was stronger or faster. It was controlled, deliberate, each of us matching the other without falling behind. The rhythm of it felt different, steadier, like we had both stepped into the same pace without needing to force it. I adjusted with him, moving without thinking, trusting the way my body responded, trusting the sword in my hand. There was no panic, no hesitation, no need to catch up. For the first time since I started training— I wasn’t behind. Corin felt it too. I saw it in the way his movements shifted, not holding back, but not overpowering either. He wasn’t treating me like someone who needed to be protected. He was fighting me like I belonged there. Our blades locked again, the force holding us in place for a moment as we stood close, too close, the space between us barely there. His breathing was steady, his gaze fixed on mine with an intensity th
Something in him changed then, not in his stance, not in his movements, but in the way he looked at me. The distance that had been there for days, the restraint he had been holding onto so tightly, it wasn’t there anymore. When he moved again, it wasn’t to test me. It was to meet me. Our blades clashed once more, but this time it wasn’t about pushing each other back. It wasn’t about proving who was stronger or faster. It was controlled, deliberate, each of us matching the other without falling behind. The rhythm of it felt different, steadier, like we had both stepped into the same pace without needing to force it. I adjusted with him, moving without thinking, trusting the way my body responded, trusting the sword in my hand. There was no panic, no hesitation, no need to catch up. For the first time since I started training, I wasn’t behind. Corin felt it too. I saw it in the way his movements shifted, not holding back, but not overpowering either. He wasn’t treating me
The air shifted, not loud, not dramatic, but enough that every guardian standing nearby fell silent without thinking. Even Rhys stilled, the irritation on his face faltering for just a second as he looked at Corin.“Since when do you decide that?” Rhys asked, his tone edged, but not nearly as confident as before.Corin didn’t answer immediately.He stepped forward instead, his hand falling away from Rhys’ shoulder as he moved onto the training ground, his focus already locked on me like nothing else around us mattered.There was no hesitation in him this time.No distance. No restraint.“Because I’m done standing on the sidelines pretending she’s not mine to protect.”The words landed hard.Not just because of what he said, but because of how he said it.A sharp inhale moved through the guardians behind us, quiet but unmistakable. Even Garrick shifted slightly, his attentio
Corin spent days making me this gift.The thought alone still hadn’t fully settled in my chest as I carefully lifted the sword from the wooden box, my fingers tightening slightly around the hilt as I tested the weight of it in my hand. It was heavier than I expected, solid and balanced, the kind of weight that demanded respect rather than fear. The golden vines wrapped naturally around my grip, as if they had been shaped for my hand alone, and the soft pink crystals caught the morning light spilling into the room, glowing faintly as if something inside them was alive.I turned the blade slightly, watching how the light danced across the metal, how the delicate details shifted with every movement. This wasn’t just a weapon. It was something crafted with care, with intention, with feeling. Corin hadn’t just made me a sword—he had made something that belonged to me.A slow breath left my chest as something warm settled deep inside me, pushing past the lingering confusion and frustration
Morning came gently, the soft light filtering into the room as I stirred beneath the blankets. For a moment, I stayed still, caught between sleep and waking up, my body still heavy from the night before. Slowly, I turned onto my side, my hand brushing across the bed beside me, and hitting something solid.My eyes snapped open instantly.The fog of sleep vanished as I pushed myself up, my gaze landing on the object lying next to me. A long wooden box rested on the bed, placed carefully where there had been nothing before. My heart began to beat faster as I stared at it, confusion and something else I couldn’t name settling in my chest.I hadn’t left the room.No one had come in.At least… not that I remembered.I shifted closer, my hand hovering over the box before finally touching it. The wood was smooth beneath my fingers, the surface carved with delicate vines that twisted and curled around each other, small flowers etched between them with such detail that they almost looked real.
My fingers curled slightly against the stone beside me, the cool surface grounding me as my thoughts began to race. After me. The words echoed in my mind, louder than anything else. The shadow demons weren’t just appearing randomly. They weren’t just attacking whatever they found.They were coming
The moment the door closed behind Corin, the room felt different.Quieter.Colder.I stood where he had left me, the blanket still clutched tightly around my body, my breath slow but uneven as I tried to steady myself. The space between us still lingered in the air, like something that hadn’t fully
Not outwardly—not in a way anyone else would notice—but I felt it. The tension in him changed, the control he had been holding onto slipping just enough to reveal what was underneath it.“It meant everything,” he said, his voice low, rougher now, like the words were
I looked back at him, my brows pulling together slightly. “Don’t change the subject,” I said, my voice firmer now, grounding myself in the question that had been building since the moment I woke up. “Where were you, Corin?”Before he could deflect again, I moved.I slipped out from beneath the blank







