Flames of the Bond

The tunnels smelled of damp stone and smoke, but Aria’s senses were sharper than ever. Every pulse of the bond burned through her veins, a constant reminder of Lucien’s presence. It was maddening, intoxicating, and terrifying all at once. The venom in her blood whispered his name, coaxing warmth and desire from places she didn’t know existed.

She clenched her fists, forcing herself to focus. Escape was still possible. She had seen the way the guards moved, the blind spots in the Citadel, the cracks in its defenses. One misstep could mean death, but staying was no longer an option.

A sudden flicker of light caught her eye. A shadow shifted in the corner, too quick to be a guard. Her magic flared instinctively, silver sparks dancing at her fingertips.

“Impressive,” a voice purred from the darkness. She froze, recognizing the tone before she even saw him. Lucien stepped forward, cloak swirling like smoke around him. “You’ve already learned to feel me in your veins. And yet you try to fight it.”

Aria’s chest tightened. “I have to,” she said, voice trembling but defiant. “I will not be your prisoner.”

Lucien’s eyes glinted. “Prisoner? No, witchling. You misunderstand. You chose this. The bond was not given, it was awakened — because you touched me. Because you saved me. Because you wanted to.”

The words sliced through her, sharper than any blade. Her hands shook. She wanted to deny it, wanted to fight the truth curling through her mind and body, but the bond surged, thrumming against her heartbeat like a second pulse. She could feel him in every nerve, every flicker of magic she tried to summon.

“Then leave,” he whispered, stepping closer, the shadows stretching around him like a cloak of fire. “Go now. Test the world outside. Feel what it’s like to run. But know this—once the venom calls, you’ll never escape it. Never escape me.”

Aria’s feet carried her toward the stairway instinctively, but her mind screamed. Desire and fear battled, twisting together until she felt as though she might burn from the inside. Every step made her pulse flare, every breath brought Lucien closer, though he remained behind her, a predator and a shadow.

Before she reached the final step, he touched her shoulder. Cold, firm, possessive. She gasped, heart hammering, and her magic flared uncontrollably, sparking against the bond. Pain and pleasure tangled together, a cruel reminder of what the curse had done.

“You feel it now,” he murmured, voice soft, almost intimate. “The hunger. The craving. That is the bond. It is fire. And fire does not forgive.”

Aria’s knees weakened. She wanted to scream, to run, to fight. And yet, every fiber of her being ached for him, for the dangerous warmth that clawed at her from within.

Lucien stepped back, letting the shadows swallow him, leaving her trembling at the threshold of escape. The corridors stretched before her, dark and silent, yet the bond throbbed violently. It would pull her back. Sooner or later. Always.

And for the first time, Aria understood: her fight was only beginning. The venom in her veins was not just a curse. It was desire, obsession, and danger intertwined — and nothing in the world would prepare her for what came next.

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