CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE #2
"Gods," Maddy whispered, leaning her head on my shoulder. "You look... powerful, Ava."
"I feel it," I admitted, my voice steady.
Deep in my mind, the bond gave a sudden, sharp tug. A low, possessive rumble vibrated through the silver tether—Asher sensing the shift in my energy, sensing the fire I was about to bring to his doorstep.
"Ready, darling?" his voice purred, dark and hungry.
I looked at my reflection—at the fire in my eyes and the black silk on my body—and sent a pulse of pure, unadulterated confidence back to him.
"Ready to ruin you, Maddox."
I could practically feel his smirk from across the castle.
Tonight wasn't just about a dance. It was about claiming the darkness before it claimed me.
"Let's go," I said to the girls, my heels clicking sharply against the stone floor. "We have a statement to make."
···
We stepped out of the dorms, the air thick and electric with anticipation.
Students fluttered past in a blur of shimmering gowns and sharp suits, their laughter and whispers trailing behind them like silk.
The ball was held in the House Ignis courtyard—the grandest space in the Academy—and tonight, it looked like a dream forged in gold. Massive lanterns floated between the ancient trees, and flames danced gently in enchanted sconces, casting a warm, flickering glow over everything they touched.
My heart stuttered. The bond flared.
My sigil lit up along my collarbone like a brand, a faint, rhythmic glow pulsing beneath my skin as it sensed its match nearby.
“My dark king.” I sent the words through the bond, and gods, the low, visceral growl I received in return nearly made my knees buckle.
"I'm warning you, darling," he purred down the link, his voice a delicious, lethal threat. "If you don't speak to Jeremy soon, I might just lose my patience and take you in the nearest closet. I don't care who hears."
My breath hitched. He knew.
He knew exactly how much I wanted to be claimed, how much I craved the way his shadows undid my sanity.
He knew I was ready to lose every ounce of control to him.
We reached the courtyard entrance, where the hum of magic was so dense it buzzed against my skin.
Enchanted lights shimmered overhead like captured constellations and in the center stood the grand fountain of Ignis—carved from obsidian and spouting molten water that shimmered like liquid gold.
"Hey, there are the guys," Maddy whispered, her hand finding mine.
My gaze followed her pointing finger—and found him.
He stood on the far side of the courtyard, impossible to miss.
He was dressed in black from head to toe, his shirt unbuttoned halfway to reveal the intricate tattoos across his chest and—gods—the glowing mark of our bond.
My pulse thundered in my ears. All around me, students turned to stare as we entered, but I didn't care. Not tonight.
What Ember had called a dress was really a two-piece set of shadows and lace: a strappy black bodysuit paired with a flowing silk skirt slit scandalously high at the hip.
My skin hummed against the delicate fabric, and attached to my waist was a flowing silk skirt with a scandalous slit that climbed all the way to my hip.
Every step I took revealed the black lace garter clinging to my thigh like a silent promise.
Asher's eyes didn't just see me; they devoured me.
His gaze trailed from my face, down the line of my throat, pausing at the swell of my breasts before dropping to the slit in my skirt. When his gaze finally landed on the garter, the bond didn't just hum, it snapped.
Heat coiled violently in my belly.
"You're playing a very dangerous game, firecracker," he murmured across the bond, his voice low, and utterly sinful. "And I think you know exactly how it ends."
The dance floor was a sea of moving bodies, swaying to the slow, heavy pulse of enchanted strings and orchestral notes that felt like velvet in the air. I had barely taken a single step into the fray when a voice stopped me cold.
"Wow."
Jeremy’s voice cut through the magic, achingly familiar.
I turned, my heart hitching with a complicated weight.
He was dressed in green and gold, the colors of his house, and looked exactly like the golden male I had grown up with.
His eyes traced every inch of my frame, lingering on the sheer lace and the sharp, high slit of the skirt.
"That's a bold choice, Ava," he said, his voice a mix of admiration and something like mourning.
And gods, I said it.
I said it loudly and clearly enough for the bond to carry it like a roar. "Black is my favorite color, Jeremy."
I didn't miss the visceral growl that curled through the link, nor did I miss the wicked, invisible tendril of shadow that slithered up my ankle.
It teased, stroking upward, climbing higher and higher beneath the silk toward the lace of my garter until I mentally slapped it away.
"Behave," I murmured through the bond.
"Make me," Asher purred back, the words vibrating in my marrow.
"Want to dance, sweetheart?" Jeremy asked, offering a hand that felt familiar and, for the first time, entirely wrong.
Behind him, Asher remained near Mavrik.
He wasn't moving.
He was just watching me with an intensity that felt like a physical brand on my skin.
Shadows flickered at his fingertips, responding to the cold focus in his eyes.
I nodded with a soft, practiced smile and placed my hand in Jeremy's.
Maddy and Ryven were dancing nearby, lost in a rare moment of peace.
Ember and Ezra spun like a collision of fire and smoke, perfectly in sync. Across the courtyard, I could still feel Asher’s gaze.
Jeremy pulled me into the dance, drawing me closer than I wanted to be.
His hand found my waist, then slid lower. To my ass.
I nearly choked when the bond flared.
It wasn't just heat; it was a hot, a vicious surge of jealousy and shadow.
"Stand down," I ordered, my mental voice sharp.
A silent snarl was all I got in return.
He obeyed, withdrawing the shadows, but the air around him in the courtyard seemed to drop ten degrees.
I knew I'd pay for that command later.
"I haven't seen you in a while," Jeremy said, his voice dropping into a register meant only for us. "Not since…"
Since that night. The one where I had been in his arms but my mind had been in the Umbra tower.
That night I was falling for someone else and was too afraid to admit it.
"I know. I'm sorry," I said, the guilt tasting like ash. “It's been chaotic. Training for the Trials… everything.”
His hand stayed dangerously low, a silent claim that felt like a lie.
I glanced over his shoulder.
Asher was still there, a dark statue of ice.
Mavrik was a steady presence beside him, and I could see Ember and Ezra had drifted closer, their movements subtle but protective.
"Jeremy…" I began, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. "I need to speak with you."
His eyes sharpened, the golden-prince mask slipping to reveal creeping suspicion.
“What's wrong, Ava?"
"I—" My throat closed up for a second before I forced the name out. "Asher."
Jeremy's jaw locked. I felt the grip on my waist tighten to the point of pain. "He's gotten to you, hasn't he?" His voice was rough now. Harsh. "You said you'd come to me. You promised we were the future."
The fury vibrating from Asher hit me like a physical wave, nearly knocking the breath from my lungs. The bond wasn't just humming; it was screaming.
"Stand. Down." I said again, my mental voice harsher than it had ever been.
This time, I felt his restraint fraying. The bond pulled so tight it felt ready to snap. Asher was barely holding on.
"I know," I whispered, my voice thick with the weight of years. "But you were gone… and I—I fell."