Jade
“You love me?” My question comes out breathless, barely audible over the crackling flames.
I stare at him, those three words echoing in my head like a bell that won’t stop ringing. My heart pounds so hard I’m sure he can hear it, and electricity dances across my skin in sparks that I can’t control.
But he’s standing too far away, with that careful distance he always maintains, even after saying the words I didn’t realize I needed to hear until right now.
“Since when?” My whole body feels like it’s vibrating, like I might tear apart at the seams if he doesn’t keep talking, doesn’t make this real.
“The pain endurance trial. You were burning alive, and all I could do was talk you through it.” He steps closer, his eyes reflecting the orange fire burning in his hands.
“But you wouldn’t let go. Wouldn’t give up.
And I was touching every part of you I could reach—your shoulders, your face, your free hand—trying to keep you grounded while that fire tried to consume you from the inside out. ”
My throat tightens at the memory of those agonizing flames, Logan’s voice a lifeline in the dark, anchoring me when I wanted to let go.
“I’ve seen a lot of people face pain, Jade.
Most break. Most beg for it to stop.” His eyes bore into mine, but they’re haunted, like he’s seeing other faces, other moments of breaking.
“You held on. I asked you to trust me, and you did. And that’s when I decided to make sure you never had to face something like that alone again. ”
Heat floods through me, the flames around us burning higher, but confusion follows quickly on its heels. “If you’ve loved me since then, why do you always pull back?”
“Because I can’t lose you.” His expression shifts, vulnerability cracking through. “I’ve watched too many people die, and I can’t—I won’t—add you to that list.”
“So you push me away instead?” Electricity travels along my fingers, the Fury Loop feeding my frustration until it feels like it might burst out of my skin. “You think that hurts less?”
His jaw tightens. “It keeps you alive.”
“And I’ve never felt more alive than I do right now.” I step closer, and he tenses, like he’s fighting the urge to either close the distance or flee entirely. “Because I love you, too. And I don’t want to go another day without showing you.”
Pain flickers in his gray eyes, but then it’s gone again, locked away behind those damn walls I can’t break.
He takes a deep breath, the fire dying slightly down around him. “When did you first know you loved me?” he asks.
The question makes me sort through weeks of stolen moments.
When he saved me during the Hydra trial and we kissed for the first time.
Him doing everything he could to stop me from turning those flames purple during the sigil ceremony.
Killing the Lampades in the Drowned Tower together.
His leading me through the trials. All those nights of training, with him pushing me to be the best I can be, and never giving up on me, no matter how frustrated I became.
But one moment stands out the most.
“Our first training session in the Ember Ring, when I admitted I was scared.” The memory is crystal clear now, and I can’t believe I didn’t realize it earlier.
“You didn’t mock me. You didn’t tell me to be stronger.
You just said my power responds to acknowledging emotions, not suppressing them, and taught me how to contain them in the sphere. ”
He moves closer, amusement crossing his eyes. “That’s when you fell for me? While I was teaching you meditation exercises?”
“I fell for you while you were teaching me it was okay to be human.” I gaze up at him, willing him to understand.
“No one’s ever done that for me. My parents wanted perfection.
My sister wanted me to be more similar to her.
My ex wanted someone easier. My friends wanted someone who fit their mold.
But you wanted me exactly as I am—electricity, fear, and all. ”
His hands settle on my waist, but the touch is so light it’s barely there, like he’s ready to pull away at any second. “So, I fell first.” There’s something bitter in his smile. “One full day before you fell for me over a simple visualization technique.”
“An excellent visualization technique.” I try to keep my voice light, but it’s hard when I can feel him holding himself back, even here, where the Fury Loop is surely pushing for his emotions to break through again. “That sphere thing really works.”
“I’ll add it to my teaching credentials.” His lips quirk, but the humor doesn’t reach his eyes. “Logan Ashford: excellent at combat training, magical control, and making witches fall in love through anxiety management.”
“Don’t sell yourself short.” I smile up at him. “The way you held me during the pain trial helped, too.”
“Because nothing says romance like soul-destroying agony.” His hands tighten on my waist, and I know he’s remembering it, too. How desperate he was to anchor me, how his soul wrapped around mine in a way that felt like it should be impossible but somehow wasn’t.
And now, in the Fury Loop, it isn’t anger that’s rushing through me.
It’s desire.
“When we were in the observatory, you said you wanted all of me.” My hands slide up his chest to rest over his racing heart, my gaze fixed on his. “That’s exactly what I want from you. Right here, right now.”
Darkness flashes in his eyes, his whole body goes rigid, and I feel him start to retreat.
But I won’t let him shut down. So, I grip his shirt and pull him closer, not letting him push me away again.
“Jade.” My name comes out like a prayer wrapped in a curse. “Do you understand what you’re asking? You want to do this here, where everything is—“
“Amplified,” I finish, already working at the fastenings of his shirt with trembling fingers. “Where we can’t lie to ourselves or each other. Where everything we feel is impossible to ignore.”
His hands catch mine, stilling them, war raging in his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“I can’t think of anywhere more perfect,” I tell him, my heart racing faster than his now. “No walls between us. No holding back. Just me, you, and everything we’ve been dancing around for weeks.”