Rheon
The bond that burns
It started with a whisper.
Then a scream.
Then fire.
The world was still black when the pain cracked open my ribs and flooded my lungs like molten iron. My body convulsed, breath clawing its way back into me as something ancient and furious surged through my veins.
Seori.
Her name tore from my throat before I even opened my eyes.
“SEORI!”
I bolted upright, drenched in sweat, power burning from my skin in waves of black flame. The bond mark over my heart seared white-hot, pulsing with panic. Not mine—hers.
“Where is she?” My voice was raw, feral. “Where is she?!”
The door burst open.
“Rheon!” Yuna stumbled into the room, Minji right behind her.
They looked stunned—for a heartbeat. Then Minji was at my side, her hands reaching to steady me even though I was a furnace barely contained in flesh.
“She’s gone,” I growled. “She’s in danger.”
“What?” Yuna whispered, pale as ash. “But—she went with Taeyang and Jisoo. To the altar.”
I laughed, bitter and broken.
“Then something went wrong. The bond—it wouldn’t wake me unless…”
Unless she needed me.
Unless she was dying.
I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, staggering to my feet.
“We have to go. Now.”
Minji looked at me, her eyes glassy.
“You just woke up—you’re not healed—”
“I don’t give a damn about healing.” My voice cracked like lightning. “She’s mine. And she’s calling me.”
The bond burned brighter—each pulse a flare of her fear, her fury, her confusion.
Yuna pressed her hand to her chest.
“Taeyang… He felt something too. He’s in pain. Something’s happening.”
I met her gaze.
“Then we’re too late to stop it. But not too late to fix it.”
The room shook with the force of my magic. Shadow tendrils rippled from my fingers, curling like smoke ready to kill.
Minji nodded.
“We’ll follow your lead.”
Yuna squared her shoulders.
“We protect our own.”
And in that moment—burning with dread and devotion—I knew one thing for certain:
I was going back to the Demon Realm.
And I was going to set the entire kingdom on fire if they laid a hand on her again.