CHAPTER ELEVEN
KADEN
Thane and Sirena are the closest thing I have to family.
We were raised together in the Tower’s halls, moulded under The Council’s watchful eyes. Yet even their easy laughter can’t distract me from the gnawing ache in my chest, knowing Elysia has disappeared deeper into the garden with Ronan.
I can’t explain why I’m continuously drawn to her; her bloodline uprooted my entire life, shattering the soul I’d just begun to build. By all reason, I should despise Elysia Morningstar, and I do.
But my body and soul doesn’t seem to remember that.
My pulse stutters when her eyes find mine, my chest tightens when she’s near, and I find myself wanting to be in her presence more than I am willing to admit.
Finding out the bond doesn’t create emotion was a cruel realisation.
I was convinced that anything I felt towards the fiery little mage was of the soulbond’s doing, that it was designed that way to make us more powerful.
Knowing it only magnifies emotions and doesn’t create them is like a blow to the chest. It means this pull between us isn’t magics trick but my own undoing.
Thane and Sirena sit across from me on the stone bench, their fingers laced, heads tilted together as they murmur about the northern line border patrols.
Usually, we’d be stationed there, but after our recent soulbond The Council has barred us from combat until our pairs have control over their shared magic.
I down the rest of my wine in one swallow. The burn is sharp and biting; it distracts me for half a heartbeat, until it doesn’t.
A spark ignites low in my stomach, spreading like a wildfire across my skin. A phantom touch ghosts along my hip, a whisper of a kiss brushing against my lips.
Fury simmers beneath my skin.
Ronan fucking Washburne is kissing my Elysia.
Not mine. I remind myself.
Still, that doesn’t stop the knot in my stomach from unravelling and spreading like poison in my system.
My fingers clench around the stem of my glass, a crack spidering through the crystal.
Shadows writhe around me, pinning my feet to the ground to stop myself from marching over there and feeding Washburne my fist.
“Damn. Everything alright?” Thane asks, brow raised.
I grind my jaw, rolling my shoulders back. “Fine.”
Sirena glances toward the edge of the garden, eyes following something unseen. Thane’s head tilts that way too, and against my better judgment, I turn.
Elysia and Ronan step from beneath the willow trees, hands still intertwined.
Her cheeks are flushed, her lips swollen, and her eyes bright.
Ronan says something that makes her laugh, an unguarded sound that crawls under my skin and stays there.
He tugs her closer as they walk, pressing his lips against hers again.
She doesn’t hesitate to kiss him back.
Something inside me snaps, and my shadows lash against the ground before I force them still.
Thane flat-out laughs. “You’re looking a little pale.”
“Twenty-five years,” Sirena muses, her tone light, “and I don’t think we’ve ever seen you jealous before. Or lose control of your shadows.” A teasing smile curves her lips.
Jealous.
The word makes my jaw lock hard enough to hurt. That’s precisely what this burning, corrosive pressure in my chest is… jealousy. I hate that she has brought this out of me.
Fuck, now my soul is bound to this woman.
For life.
“Maybe we should carve it into the Concordium wall as a historic moment,” Thane adds, clapping his hand on my shoulder.
A groan works up my throat, irritation lacing my tone. “Shut the fuck up, Thane.”
He continues to laugh despite my tone, and the sound vibrates through me, getting on my last damn nerve.
“Aw, but watching you pretend you don’t care is the most entertaining thing we’ve seen all week.”
“I don’t care.” I snap.
He scoffs in response. “Please, we’ve both seen the way you look at her.”
“Like I want to kill her?” A smirk pulls at my lips, though the expression feels wrong.
“No, like you want to fuck—”
“Don’t finish that sentence when I’m in the mood to hit people.” We are equally skilled in combat, making us perfect sparring partners. But I’m just irritated enough to actually enjoy hurting my brother.
He grins wide, slapping his hands together in a praying gesture. “Oh, would you please? You’ve been moping around like a kicked hound all day, throwing me around on the mat might do you some good. Nothing clears the head like getting those big, strong hands of yours bloody.”
“I said don’t—”
“I heard you,” he cuts in lightly. “I just chose to ignore it. Besides, you’re miserable when you don’t hit something. It’s unsettling.”
I shove his shoulder, sending him stumbling backwards. “Fuck off.”
He laughs as he catches himself, already rolling his shoulders like he’s warming up. “That’s the spirit,” he says triumphantly. “See? You’re halfway there already.”
I glare at him. He only smiles wider.
Sirena hums next to me, head tilted as her eyes sear through me. “Hmm, you’re not pretending, are you? You’re trying not to care.” Her eyes soften slightly. I hate how she always sees right through me. “You’re angry at her father and pissed that you don’t hate her for it.”
I don’t respond; I don’t have to. Sirena has always been right, annoyingly observant and persistently nosey.
The air thickens with tension as Ronan’s voice slices through it, lazy and mocking as he approaches. “Didn’t take you for the jealous type, Reinheart…” he says, looping his arm around Elysia’s waist like he’s daring me to react. “But if it helps, I’ll make sure to be extra gentle with her.”
My jaw flexes. “She doesn’t need gentle.”
Ronan tilts his head, smiling sharply. “Funny, I don’t recall her asking for your opinion, and she certainly wasn’t complaining.”
Magic burns beneath my skin, and my shadows writhe at my feet, ready to detonate with every second I hold myself back from feeding him my fucking fist.
Elysia steps forward, voice cutting through the tension like a blade.
“Noctis, take me.” She exhales, frustration rough in her tone. “The two of you are acting like children fighting over a damn toy.” Her gaze locks on Ronan first, a soft smile tilting her lips. “You… stop goading him.”
Then she turns to me, eyes like steel. “And you, Kaden, have no right to keep acting this way. You don’t get to stake a claim on me…
” she continues, voice unwavering, though she fidgets with the ring on her finger.
“You don’t get to dictate who I talk to, who I kiss, or how I live.
The bond ties our magic, not our hearts… and it never will.”
The garden falls silent, the air thrumming with the weight of her words. Ronan’s thumb brushes along her hip in quiet reassurance, a small and possessive motion.
I take a step forward, a cruel smile splitting my face. “You can keep telling yourself that, if it’s easier. But you still feel it, don’t you? After I had you whimpering beneath my shadows.”
Enzo chokes on his wine, and Odette leans forward, their faces split with entertained grins.
“Oh shit. Now it’s a show.” Enzo announces, tone amused.
Elysia shoots him a glare sharp enough to cut, but he doesn’t cower away like he usually would. His buzz making him far too confident for his own fucking good.
Elysia’s throat works as she swallows, and a small flicker of heat sparks through the bond, enough to betray her before she stamps it down.
Ronan’s gaze cuts to her, confusion clouding his features as he pieces together what I’ve just implied.
My smile widens before I can stop it. I shouldn’t feel proud of dragging her into the fire with me, but the taste of victory is bitter and intoxicating all at once. Because underneath the anger, the jealousy, the godforsaken bond… I wanted her to feel it.
To remember how it felt like electricity when our skin touched.
“If you think a few shadows and whispered words make you unforgettable, Kaden, you’re even more delusional than I thought.” She lifts her chin, defiant as ever. “My apologies if your ego’s still recovering. And next time you try to use our bond as leverage, maybe try not to sound so desperate.”
The silence that follows lasts exactly half a second, my shadows flaring as her words land like a blade slipped between my ribs.
Enzo lets out a low, impressed whistle. “Yeah. Nope. Officially never pissing her off. That was fucking rough.”
Odette practically vibrates beside him, eyes bright with glee. “Do you think shadows can feel humiliation, or does that transfer directly to their user?”
Enzo snorts. “Hard to say, but I’ve never seen them move that erratically before.”
My jaw ticks, anger unfurling from my chest and spreading outward. It isn’t mine alone. The bond vibrates as her fury bleeds into mine, then reflects straight back at her until there’s no separation left. Just heat. Just rage. It roars through my veins, each heartbeat stoking the fire further.
Overhead, the strung rune-lights flicker, stuttering in protest as the air thickens with chaos we can’t quite contain.
Thane exhales through his nose, shaking his head as he murmurs something under his breath to Sirena.
Her gaze flicks once between Elysia and me before settling on mine, gentle but firm. “Kaden,” she says softly, “maybe let it go.”
I grit my teeth and rein my shadows back in, then without another word, I turn and stride from the garden, empty glass in hand.
The suite is quiet when I make it back, too quiet.
I drop my glass onto the table, the last streak of wine pooling like blood at the bottom. My shadows shift restlessly across the floor, whispering against the stone, mirroring the chaos in my chest. I lean back against the wall, drag a hand through my hair, and let out a bitter laugh.
“Get a hold of yourself,” I mutter.
But every time I close my eyes, I see her lips against his, her laughter echoing in my head, and his hands touching her warm skin that felt like silk under my touch.
She was right, I have no claim on her … and yet it feels like I do; she feels like mine.