Chapter 13: Bound by Fire.
519 Words
The castle was silent, as though the very stones held their breath. Outside, the storm had passed, leaving the night air heavy and damp, the moon cloaked in shadow.
Inside, Nora stood trembling in the middle of Blade’s chamber. Her lips still burned from his kiss. Her heart still raced with the bond’s unrelenting pull.
She should have run. She should have screamed. Instead, she stayed.
Blade circled her like a predator, his crimson eyes glowing, hunger etched into every line of his face. But beneath the hunger, she saw it—something fragile, something human. He was as terrified as she was.
“You think I don’t feel it too?” he murmured, his voice rough with restraint. “This fire… it devours me. Every time you breathe, I burn.”
Nora’s chest heaved. “You’ll destroy me.”
He stepped closer, his fingers brushing her cheek, trailing down to the curve of her neck. She shivered at his touch.
“No,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. “I will worship you.”
The bond pulsed, snapping the last of her resistance. With a soft gasp, she surged into him, their mouths colliding in a kiss that stole the air from her lungs. This time, she didn’t hold back. She kissed him with all the anger, fear, longing, and ache she had buried for so long.
Blade groaned, the sound raw, and his hands slid to her waist, pulling her against him as though she belonged in his arms. His lips trailed down her throat, his fangs grazing but not piercing, as if he fought every second against the urge to mark her.
“Mine,” he growled against her skin. “You are mine, Nora.”
“Then take me,” she whispered, her voice trembling but certain.
That broke him.
With a sudden urgency, he lifted her, laying her down upon the silken bed. The world blurred as his mouth claimed hers again, his hands tracing fire over her body, each touch reverent yet desperate. Her own hands tangled in his hair, pulling him closer, needing more.
The bond roared, an inferno neither could contain. Every kiss, every touch, every breath deepened the pull until it was unbearable.
When his lips trailed lower, worshipping every inch of her, she arched into him, surrendering fully. The moment he finally joined with her, it wasn’t just physical—it was soul-deep. Pain and pleasure, fear and ecstasy, all tangled in the flames of a bond that had waited a thousand years.
Their cries echoed through the chamber, raw and unrestrained, as two broken creatures finally found their completion in each other.
When it ended, Nora lay trembling in his arms, her body slick with sweat, her heart still pounding. Blade held her as though she were made of glass, his lips brushing her hair, his voice hoarse.
“You are my salvation,” he whispered.
And though the words terrified her, she clung to him, unable to deny the truth.
For the first time in her life, Nora didn’t feel hunted. She felt wanted.
Completely.
- Writer
