Chapter 5: Lies of the Coven

ARIA'S POV

Aria's skin still burned from the dream. No matter how hard she scrubbed, the glow of the sigil refused to fade. It crawled up her arm in twisting lines, bright as embers beneath her flesh. Every pulse reminded her of Kael's lips, his hands, the shadows that had bound her.

She staggered into the temple, hoping against hope that the High Priestess would know how to undo this. The sanctum smelled of herbs and smoke, the air thick with old magic. Candles guttered as though sensing her corruption.

The High Priestess emerged from the shadows, her silver hair bound in braids, her eyes sharp as obsidian. One look at Aria's arm and her face paled, though her tone stayed cold.

"So it's true," she whispered. "The curse has awakened again."

Aria swallowed hard. "Tell me what's happening to me. Tell me how to stop it."

The priestess's mouth thinned. "Long ago, a witch line defied the gods. Theirs punishment was a curse: every few generations, one would be born fated to a demon mate. A bond of ruin. A bond of blood."

Her chest constricted. " You mean me."

"You are the cursed heir," the Priestess confirmed. "That mark proves it."

Aria's stomach twisted. The words struck like daggers, but worse than the truth was the way Kael's voice stirred within her again, almost amused.

Did you think they'd tell you everything? Did you think they weren't hiding what they did to me?

Sh clenched her jaw, shaking her head, willing him out. But the fever flared, heat coiling low in her belly, a reminder that he was always there, waiting.

The High Priestess eyes narrowed. " You've already heard him, haven't you? His whispers in your dream."

Aria flinched.

"Then you are already tainted," the woman spat. "We must sever it before it consumes you."

Before she could reply, a sharp crack echoed through the temple--stone shattering, runes breaking.

Aria whirled.

From the depths of the crypts below, heat rippled upward. Smoke curled between the stones, and for the first time, Kel's presencedidn't come as a whisper but a roar.

"I will not let them take you!"

The bond surged, her mark blazing so bright she had to shield her eyes. Somewhere beneath the temple, Kael was breaking his prison.

The High Priestess's face twisted in fury. "He grows stronger. You've fed him!"

"I--no--I didn't...." Aria stammered, but the priestess wasn't listening.

She raised her staff, chanting words that seared the air. light flared, white and mericless, crashing against Aria's body. Pain exploded through her veins. She screamed, clutching her chest, feeling the bond writhe and fight back against the holy assault.

"Purification," the Priestess hissed. " We burn out the corruption before it spreads."

Aria collapsed to her kness. The world blurred, her body torn between two forces: the searing purity of the coven, and the raw, possessive fire of Kael.

Then she heard him again--louder, shaper, demanding.

"Say my name, Aria. Call me, and I'll break them."

Her lips parted, trembling. The Priestess's magic pressed harder, but the bond surged hotter, wilder. Her vision swam red.

"Say it."

"Kael,' she gasped, the slipping out like a confession.

The air split open.

The floor beneath them cracked as a rune shattered in the crypt below. A column of fire burst upward, rattling the temple walls. Aria fell back her breath caught in her throat.

The High Priestes stumbled, shock flashin across her face. "No... impossible. The chains were eternal!"

But Kael's laughter--low, dark, triumphant--echoed from the depths, rattling the stone.

"Eternal? Nothing is eternal when she is mine."

Aria clutched her glowing arm, horror twisting with a rush of forbiddden relief.

Because she knew the truth.

Every time she resisted, the bond burned her alive. Every time she surrendered, he grew stronger.

And she had just spoken his name.