I lied to him with the same mouth that still tasted like his kiss.
Kairos had not let go of my arm since the garden. He dragged me back to our chambers, slammed the door, and stood there staring at the place where the wound should have been.
“Talk,” he said.
I kept my voice steady even though my pulse was wild. “The ritual woke something. Old magic. Phoenix blood, maybe. I do not fully understand it yet.”
“Phoenix blood.” He repeated the words like they tasted wrong. “You expect me to believe that just appeared because I marked you?”
“I expect you to believe what I am telling you right now. The bonding pulled it out of me. That is all I know.”
His eyes searched my face. “You are still hiding pieces.”
“I am telling you what I can.”
Silence stretched between us. Then he stepped close
