Chapter 4: The Grip of The Shadow
488 Words
The temperature in the cavern plummeted, turning Evadne’s ragged breaths into plumes of white frost. Cassian stepped closer, his midnight-black robes whispering against the stone floor like a gathering storm. His icy-blue eyes never left Eva, scanning her with a dark, clinical hunger that made her skin prickle.
Kaelen lunged forward, his broadsword slicing a golden arc through the dark. "I said, look away from her!"
With a flick of Cassian's pale wrist, solid shadows erupted from the cavern floor, wrapping around Kaelen’s blade and binding his arms to his sides. The golden elven warrior roared, his muscles straining against the suffocating black tendrils, but the magic held fast.
Cassian bypassed him entirely, gliding toward Eva. "A beautiful thing," the mage murmured, his voice a low, velvety purr that vibrated deep in Eva's chest. "Far too precious to be dragged through the mud by a feral hound."
Eva didn't cower. The initial shock of the escape had worn off, replaced by a sudden, fierce spark of defiance. She stood her ground, her wide violet eyes locking onto his piercing gaze. As Cassian reached out a gloved hand to touch her chin, Eva didn't flinch—she snatched a sharp piece of shattered crystal from the cavern floor and drove it straight toward his throat.
Cassian caught her wrist a mere inch from his neck. His grip was shockingly hot against her cold skin, clamping down with bruising strength.
"Fierce," Cassian whispered, his icy eyes darkening with an sudden, intense heat. He pulled her wrist up, pinning it against the stone wall behind her, trapping her body completely beneath his. He leaned in so close his breath brushed her lips. "I expected a fragile little dove. Instead, I find a creature with claws."
Eva’s heart hammered, not just from anger, but from the overwhelming, suffocating proximity of him. He smelled of crushed mint and ancient parchment, a toxic, intoxicating scent. Her chest rose and fell heavily against his broad chest, the thin, torn silk of her gown doing nothing to hide the frantic beat of her pulse.
"Let. Her. Go," Kaelen snarled, the veins in his neck bulging as his golden energy began to crack and burn through Cassian’s shadows.
Cassian ignored the elf, his focus entirely consumed by the girl pinned beneath him. His gaze dropped to her plump lips, his thumb sliding from her wrist to press firmly against her bottom lip, parting them slightly. The sheer, dominant possessiveness of the gesture sent a dizzying jolt of heat straight to Eva's core.
"You are coming with me, little star," Cassian breathed, his eyes flashing with a dangerous, obsessive light. "And I think I shall keep you all to myself."
Before Eva could bite his hand, Kaelen shattered the shadow bonds with a deafening explosion of golden light, throwing himself directly at the dark mage.
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