CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO #2
if I couldn't control the void where the bond used to be, and if I couldn't control the godsdamned ache in my chest… at least I could control this.
“That’s the spirit,” Aether muttered dryly through the bond, though I could feel his golden eyes watching me with a heavy, knowing concern.
···
Drink after drink went down.
And the faster they went down, the wilder I got.
Aether kept warning me through the bond—sharp flashes of irritation, growing worry, and then outright threats—but by drink three,
I was already blocking him out, pushing his voice into a corner of my mind I didn't want to visit.
We were playing Riftpong, the cups floating lazily in the air, drifting just out of reach as if the game itself were mocking my lack of balance. Every time I missed, I had to drink. Which was every time.
Ryven tried to take the cup from my hand once, his eyes clouded with concern. “Ava,” he said quietly, his hand hovering over mine. “That’s enough. You're already swaying.”
I laughed in his face, the sound sharp and brittle. “I need to be numb, Ry,” I told him, my voice cracking. “Numb is better than this.”
And then I drank anyway.
Soon, someone dragged me onto the dance floor.
Music thumped through the floating dome, wind magic twisting the bass into something physical that vibrated deep in my bones.
Maddy’s eyes sparkled as we spun together, both of us laughing far too loudly to be truly happy.
Ember was somewhere behind us, throwing back shots straight from a bottle with a reckless glint in her eyes.
Zaria was at the edge of the floor, draped over two Ventus males at once.
Then I saw Rhea and Mavrik.
They were standing close near the bar, heads bent together, whispering. The intimacy of it—the simple, quiet ease of their connection—punched straight through me.
Gods. Everything reminded me of Asher.
The way people touched. The way they looked at each other.
The way they leaned close as if the rest of the world had ceased to exist.
I shook my head hard and kept dancing.
Kept spinning.
Kept trying to outrun the ache hollowing out my chest.
My eyes slid closed, the world turning into a swirl of colors.
Then, hands came around my waist.
My arms were already raised above my head, and my body swayed back into the heat of him without a single thought.
“Asher…” I whispered, my heart leaping.
Gods, his hands on me felt so right.
A mouth brushed the sensitive skin of my neck. Heat flared across my skin.
I moaned softly, tilting my head back. “Asher—”
“That is NOT Asher!” Aether seethed through the bond, his voice a violent roar.
My mind snapped straight.
My eyes flew open.
At the exact same moment,
He didn't just growl; he launched himself between us, one massive paw striking the male back.
The guy staggered back with a shout of pain and shock.
“What the fuck?!”
I spun around, the room tilting.
It was just some random Ventus male.
No silver eyes.
No shadows.
No him.
“Get your fucking cat away from me!” the guy yelled, clutching his bleeding arm.
Anger, hot and volatile, surged through my blood.
I opened my mouth to snap back, but a fist slammed into the male’s jaw before I could get a word out.
Hard. He hit the crystal floor with a sickening thud.
Ezra stood over him, his breathing slow and dangerous.
“Get. The. Fuck. Away. From. The. Heir,” he snarled, his voice a low, lethal vibration.
Ezra’s massive bloodhound moved instantly, planting himself in front of me like a wall of muscle, both Ruin and Havoc baring their teeth.
The Ventus male blinked in shock, then surged up and swung back.
“Ezra!” I screamed.
They went down together, grappling, boots skidding across the polished stone.
Ryven lunged forward, dragging the male off Ezra, while Mavrik grabbed Ezra by the shoulders.
But two more Ventus males shoved into the fray. Water magic surged in sharp arcs; wind cracked like a whip.
The music died. Students scattered.
“Gods,” I muttered, swaying on my feet.
The world tilted sideways, the ceiling and floor swapping places. My stomach lurched violently.
I was going to be sick.
Ember’s green eyes suddenly filled my vision, fierce and focused. “Okay. Nope. We are DONE.”
She caught my wrist firmly and pulled me toward her.
Zaria, Maddy, and Rhea closed in around us instantly, forming a protective shield that didn't allow anyone near.
They dragged me out of the dome and into the cool, biting air of the floating gardens.
The moment we cleared the threshold, I doubled over. And vomited. Hard.
Tears streamed down my face, hot and humiliating. My whole body shook with the force of it.
“I just want him,” I sobbed hoarsely, my voice breaking over the sound of the wind. “I just want Asher…”
Ember held my hair back, her grip steady.
Maddy rubbed my back, and Rhea murmured something soothing I couldn't quite hear.
Zaria stood guard, looking ready to dismantle anyone who so much as stared.
Footsteps thundered up the path behind us.
Mavrik skidded to a stop first, his lip split and swelling, but the idiot was still grinning like he’d enjoyed the scrap. Rhea immediately rounded on him, rolling her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t fall out.
Ryven followed, his eyes unfocused—until Maddy stormed into his space, jabbing a finger into his chest like she was ready to start a second war.
I barely registered the chaos of my friends.
My eyes had already locked onto Ezra.
His knuckles were torn open, streaked with drying blood.
His lower lip was split, a dark line of blood cutting through the corner of his mouth. But his gaze was still wild, protective, and furious enough to make my chest tighten.
He didn't say a word.
He just crossed the distance in three long strides, crouched down, and gathered me up in his arms as if I weighed nothing at all.
“Got you,” he muttered against my hair.
Something in my chest finally gave out.
I fisted my hands into his black shirt, clinging to him like a lifeline. “I killed him,” I whispered brokenly, the nightmare leaking into reality. “Ezra… I killed him…”
His steps faltered for a fraction of a second. “What?”
“The dream,” I sobbed, my face buried in his neck. “There was so much blood… I had the sword… he looked at me like I betrayed him…” My fingers tightened in his shirt.
“I would never hurt him, Ezra. Never…”
At some point, still clinging to Ezra, I passed out.
The world simply went dark. No dreams. No thoughts. Just a merciful, heavy nothingness that swallowed the ache in my chest.
When I woke again, everything hurt.
My head spun as if the room were still floating somewhere over Ventus, and my mouth tasted like ash and bad decisions. Gods… what the hell had happened last night?
I cracked one eye open.
Morning light filtered weakly through the balcony doors, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air.
And that’s when I saw him.
Ezra was asleep on the lounge chair across the room, still in his leathers.
His head was tipped back against the cushions, his jaw slack with exhaustion.
His auburn hair fell messily over his forehead, and his bruised knuckles rested in his lap, dark with dried blood he hadn’t even bothered to clean.
Ezra’s massive bloodhound lay at his feet like a sentry, both Ruin and Havoc awake and watching me.
Slowly, I turned my head to the left. Ember was curled beside me in the bed, tucked toward me as if she’d never intended to sleep but had succumbed anyway.
One of her hands was still loosely gripping the sleeve of my robe.
Her eyes were closed, her expression peaceful.
For once.
And then… they flew open.
Green eyes locked onto mine instantly, sharp and full of a worry that made my throat tighten.
“Ava?” she whispered.
That was it.
That was all it took.
Something inside me cracked wide open, the dam finally bursting.
I broke.
Sobs tore out of my chest before I could stop them—ugly, shaking, uncontrollable sounds.
My hands flew to my face as if I could hide from the feeling ripping through me.