Chapter 24 #3
He hadn’t just threatened me. He’d wanted me shaken.
Doubting. Doubting myself. Doubting my connection with Aiden.
I exhaled slowly, staring at the wall, willing my pulse to calm.
I knew Aiden resented me. He admitted that much.
I still didn’t understand why, and maybe one day he’d tell me, but lately…
lately things between us had been different.
Easier. We were working together. Talking.
Almost trusting each other. And I didn’t want to ruin that by spiraling.
Erebus had known exactly where to strike.
He’d planted the idea like poison, whispering it straight into my fears.
But I refused to let him win. Whatever game he was playing, whatever darkness he was hiding behind that smirk, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.
He was only trying to get under my skin.
At least that’s what I told myself.
“Ryn, you okay?” Gia’s voice pulled me from my haze. I blinked, realizing I’d been sitting on my bed, staring blankly at the wall.
“Y-yeah,” I reply, shaking myself back to reality and pulling on my leathers. “Just tired.”
“You look exhausted. No nightmares, right?” Her brows pinched together with genuine worry.
“No, nothing like that.” It wasn’t a lie. Not technically. “Just thinking about that girl… and the boy Aiden and I found.” I wanted to tell Gia about the rune I found, but I needed to understand it more before I told my friends.
I also wanted to tell her about Erebus, about my suspicions but I already dumped enough on them yesterday by spilling the fact that everything we know was built on lies, that even the professors were lying to us.
“I’ll meet you at breakfast,” I added, tugging on my boots and braiding my hair quickly. “Need to make a stop first.”
Gia gave me a slow nod, still watching me with concern as I slipped out the door. The halls were empty at this hour; most of the students were either still asleep or heading to the feeding hall. I made my way toward the unit leader dorms and stopped outside Aiden’s door.
I knocked once, then let myself in. Maybe it wasn’t the right call, but this was sort of urgent.
He wasn’t up. Blankets tangled around his waist, his bare back exposed to the dim morning light filtering through the curtains.
I froze. Scars marked his skin, deep lashings, old and faded but unmistakable. My breath caught. I knew what it meant.
I wasn’t the only one who had killed someone by accident.
I stepped closer and reached out, brushing my fingers gently over his shoulder.
“Aiden, wake up.” The second I touched him, the shadows struck.
I hit the floor hard, pinned by invisible tendrils of darkness as they coiled around my wrists and throat.
Panic flared in my chest. “Aiden! It’s me!
” His eyes flew open, and confusion swept over his face as the shadows immediately recoiled.
“Ruin? Shit, sorry,” he muttered as he jolted awake, swinging his legs over the bed, breathless.
Air rushed back into my lungs in a painful wave. I gasped and sat up, brushing dust from my leathers. “Gods, Aiden. Way to try to kill me.”
“How about you don’t sneak into my room next time,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. The motion pulled every muscle tight, shadows sliding over his tattoos in a manner that was far too distracting. I tried not to stare. Tried and failed.
“Trust me, normally I wouldn’t, but this is important,” I replied, rolling my eyes.
His smirk flickered but disappeared the moment I reached into my satchel.
“Look, I broke into that girl’s room last night.
I found something.” I pulled out the rune.
The second it hit the air; his shadows writhed along the walls like startled beasts.
Aiden’s expression shifted, his eyes swirling into that haunting onyx hue.
“You got that from her room?” he asked, voice low.
“What are they saying?” I asked, quickly tucking the rune back into my satchel as his shadows twitched.
He rubbed his jaw, tone quieter now. “They’re saying that rune doesn’t belong here, Ryn. It’s old. Ancient. Filled with a darkness that predates even the war gods.” Ryn. The name tightened something low in my stomach. It had been a long time since I heard him say my proper nickname.
“I know,” I replied, “I could feel it the moment I touched it. My light… it tried to push it away.”
“We need to search where the second body was found,” Aiden said, thinking aloud.
“If it’s tied to the killings, there might be another rune.
” He stood, and I immediately regretted all my life choices.
The blanket slid lower, exposing a stretch of toned torso, abs, and an indecent amount of inked runes disappearing beneath his boxers.
I snapped my gaze away so fast my neck nearly cracked.
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll check the area where we found the boy,” I choked out, already turning toward the door, needing distance before my eyes betrayed me.
Focus. It’s the bond. Only the bond. I repeated it like a desperate mantra, but my feet slowed.
“There’s something else,” I said, stopping short and turning back.
This time, I forced myself to focus only on his face.
“Erebus was outside the girl’s room when I left. ”
Aiden moved instantly. The shift in him was visceral. His body went rigid, shoulders squaring as he stepped closer and then his gaze dropped. To my throat. I felt it before he said anything. The bond flared hot and sharp, anger slamming into me so hard it stole my breath.
“What the fuck is that?” His voice dropped into a low growl that vibrated straight through my bones. He was suddenly too close. Bare skin. Heat. Fury rolled off him in waves as his fingers brushed the bruising at my throat, light, careful, reverent despite the violence coiled beneath it.
“He grabbed me,” I said quietly, looking away, arms crossing over my chest. “And… sort of choked me.” Through the bond, his rage surged raw, blinding, before he forced it down, burying it under iron control.
“What do you mean by sort of, Ruin?” His jaw was tight; every word edged with restraint. He cupped my cheek, firm but gentle, tipping my face back toward his. “Did Erebus hurt you?”
“Yes,” I replied. “But that’s not what matters. It’s what he said, Aiden.”
He scoffed and stepped back half a pace, running a hand through his hair.
“Doesn’t matter?” His voice cracked just slightly.
Then he was back in front of me, hands framing my cheeks again.
“It fucking matters, Ruin. Now tell me what happened.” The heat from him bled into me, making it hard to think. Hard to breathe.
My heart stuttered at the way he said my name. “He told me light could be swallowed whole,” I said softly. I almost told him the rest. About what Erebus mentioned. About him. But I swallowed it down.
“So, he threatened you,” Aiden snapped, “and put his hands on you.” His thumbs traced my cheekbones, tender in stark contrast to the fury in his eyes.
“I swear to the gods, if he touches you again, I’ll rip his fucking hands off.
” The bond flared violently, tight and electric, pulsing through my ribs.
Goosebumps rippled across my skin. He felt it too; I knew he did because he leaned in, forehead resting against mine.
“Aiden,” I whispered. My breath shook. His lips hovered mere inches above mine, a promise he didn’t dare keep. His thumb traced my lower lip, tugging softly, and a sharp inhale tore from my chest.
“Gods,” he murmured against my mouth, voice wrecked.
“You have no idea what you do to me.” Then he pulled away.
Stepped back. The shadows retreated, the bond dimming until it felt like a part of me hollowed out.
His jade eyes searched mine, dark, restrained, aching with want and something fiercer beneath it.
“Go,” he said quietly. “Before I don’t let you.
” For one terrible moment, I wanted to close the distance.
Wanted to reach for him. But it was the bond. It had to be.
So, I turned and left his room. Because if I had stayed, neither of us would have walked away. And as much as I wanted to run back, to feel his hands, his mouth, that pull, I couldn’t. Not like this. Not when I didn’t know if what I felt was real…or just the gods tightening their grip around us.