Chapter Nineteen: Shadows Watching
418 Words
The bond flared in my chest again, sharp enough to steal my breath. I staggered, clutching at my ribs, and for a moment I swore I felt Damien’s laughter brush across my skin.
He knew.
He knew I was no longer helpless.
“Good,” Lyanna murmured, watching me with sharp eyes. “He feels you. Let him. The fear of what you’re becoming will be your shield as much as your fire.”
I shook my head, my voice unsteady. “You don’t understand. Damien doesn’t fear. He consumes. Every time he touches my mind through this bond, it feels like he’s trying to pull me closer.”
Lyanna’s gaze darkened. “Then you must learn to resist.”
Before I could answer, a howl echoed through the forest—low, warning, urgent. My heart leapt into my throat. That was a scout’s cry.
Lyanna’s expression hardened. “He’s closer than I thought.”
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Far from the forest, in the shadows of his stronghold, Damien stood on a balcony overlooking his army. His dark cloak billowed, the moonlight catching in his obsidian eyes. The bond thrummed with her fire, and he smiled.
“So she’s finally learning to play with her flames.” His voice was a silken whisper, equal parts pride and hunger. “Good. It will make breaking her all the sweeter.”
A wolf shifted at his side, bowing low. “My lord, the pack is rallying. They prepare for war.”
“Let them,” Damien murmured, his fingers tracing the air as though stroking an invisible flame. “The girl carries fire in her veins, but fire consumes as easily as it protects. One push… and it will devour her whole.”
He turned, his cloak swirling behind him. “Ready the hunters. I want her brought to me alive. Her pack can burn.”
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Back in the forest, Lyanna’s eyes searched the treeline as the scouts returned, their fur bristling with alarm.
“They’re moving,” one growled. “Damien’s forces gather on the western border.”
Fear clenched my stomach, but underneath it burned something fiercer—resolve. I clenched my fists, sparks dancing at my fingertips.
“I won’t run anymore,” I said, my voice steady despite the tremor in my chest. “If Damien wants me… he’ll have to face what I’ve become.”
Lyanna’s eyes narrowed, studying me as though weighing my soul. Then, slowly, she nodded.
“Then we prepare for war.”
- Writer
