Thorne’s hands gripped my shoulders. “Rory, look at me. We’ll find him. Whatever this is, it’s not too late.”Riven’s gaze was dark, sharp as a blade. “It’s Celeste. This reeks of her.” His voice was low, almost a growl. “She’s hurting him to get to you.”The silver wolf’s voice slid through my mind like smoke.“And it’s working. She knows you’ll come running. She’s counting on it.”“I don’t care what she wants,” I said, my voice shaking but fierce. “Kael’s mine. I’m not letting her have him.”Riven exchanged a glance with Thorne, the kind that said they both knew this was a trap, but neither of them tried to stop me.“Then we move now,” Riven said, already strapping his blade back onto his belt. “Before that bond goes dark.”We ran. Through the burning ruins of the courtyard, past the wounded soldiers whispering as we passed, Daughter of Fire, dangerous, not one of us. I heard them, but I didn’t care.The fire in my blood drowned out everything but Kael.His pain was pulling me like
Kael didn’t look back.The moment he walked into the shadows of the courtyard, I felt it—the bond was stretching, cracking, and bleeding. The pain hit so hard I doubled over, clutching my chest.“Rory!” Thorne caught me before I fell, his strong arms steady even as his face was pale with worry.“He’s breaking the bond,” I gasped. “I can feel it—”Thorne’s jaw clenched. “Kael’s stubborn, but he’s not that stupid. He’ll come back. He just needs—”“He’s hurt,” I whispered. My voice trembled, tears stinging my eyes. “Not just from the shadow… from me.”A low groan pulled me from my thoughts.Riven.He was lying on the ground, his skin slick with sweat, his mark glowing faintly like an ember about to die out.“Riven!” I crawled to him, grabbing his hand. “I’m here. I’m right here.”His dark eyes fluttered open, heavy-lidded but sharp even in pain. “You… pulled too much,” he rasped.“You told me to,” I shot back, my voice breaking. “I thought I lost you—”He smirked faintly, even now. “Woul
The shadow figure didn’t move.It just stood there at the far end of the courtyard, motionless, its form flickering like smoke caught in frozen air. No glowing eyes. No snarls or claws like the others. Just silence.“Is it one of hers?” Kael asked, his hand already on his sword.“No,” Riven said, stepping forward slowly, his gaze sharp. “This feels… different.”The air thickened, heavy and cold, and I realized I wasn’t breathing.Because I could feel it.Not like an enemy.Not like a creature.Like… me.“Come closer.”The whisper was in my own voice. I flinched, my hands curling into fists.“Did you hear that?” I asked, my voice shaky.“Hear what?” Thorne said, his golden eyes narrowing.“They can’t hear me, Rory. Just you. Because I am you.”I took a step back, my heart pounding. “It’s in my head. It’s… using my voice.”“Rory, don’t let it in,” Riven said, his tone sharper now. He stepped closer, his hand hovering near mine. “Whatever it is, it’s not you.”“Are you sure?” I whispered
Kael’s hand tightened around his sword hilt. “What’s going on is she’s burning us all, and Riven’s letting her.”“Kael, stop,” I said, stepping forward. “This isn’t—”“Isn’t what?” His gaze was cold fire. “You kissed him. You let him in. And you wonder why I’m pulling away?”Riven’s jaw tightened. He stepped between us, his eyes locked on Kael. “Don’t do this.”Kael’s laugh was bitter. “Don’t do this? You’ve wanted her since the moment she walked into our lives. You think I didn’t see it? You think I didn’t feel it every time you looked at her like she was already yours?”“Kael!” Thorne barked, but Kael ignored him.“You’re a coward,” Kael said, his voice like steel, “waiting for me to fall apart so you can take what’s mine.”Riven’s lips curved in a sharp, dangerous smile. “Maybe she’s not yours to take. Maybe she never was.”The tension snapped.Kael moved first, swinging his sword, not to kill, but to prove something. Riven blocked the strike with the flat of his blade, sparks flyi
“Who do you choose?” Kael’s voice cut through the silence, sharp as the blade still in his hand.My breath caught. Everyone was staring at me, Kael’s anger blazing, Thorne’s worry etched into every line of his face, and Riven’s dark, unreadable gaze.I could still feel the silver wolf’s voice curling through my mind.“Choose me, daughter. Or watch them burn.”“I don’t…” My throat tightened. “I don’t choose any of you.”Kael flinched like I’d struck him.Thorne’s hand dropped from my arm.Even Riven’s jaw clenched, his eyes flickering with something close to pain.“I can’t choose when I don’t even know what I am anymore,” I whispered, my voice breaking.“Do you think I want this? Do you think I like feeling like a bomb about to explode?”Kael’s knuckles whitened on his sword hilt. “Then what are you going to do, Rory? Keep letting that fire use you until it kills us all?”“Kael—” Thorne started, but Kael turned on him.“Don’t defend her,” Kael snapped. “You saw what happened. You saw w
I ran forward, white fire bursting from my hands. The beast screeched as my flames tore through it, dissolving its body into ash.But Kael… Kael was looking at me differently. Like he’d seen something in that fire that terrified him.The wolf prowled closer, its voice like molten iron.“You feel it, don’t you? That power isn’t theirs. It isn’t the Gate’s. It’s mine. Yours. And if you want to protect them, you need to stop pretending you can do it without me.”Thorne shifted back to human, blood smeared down his side, and grabbed my arm. “Rory, don’t.Don’t listen to her. Whatever she’s offering—”“I’m not offering,” the wolf interrupted, flames flickering hotter around its paws. “I’m telling her the truth. The triplets can’t protect her. Celeste will kill them one by one. The only way Rory survives is if she becomes what she was born to be.”“What does that even mean?” I demanded.The wolf’s eyes burned into mine.“It means the prophecy isn’t about your mates. It’s about you. Three th