CHAPTER 18 — Bound by Fire
981 Words
Kael gave me exactly ten minutes.
Not eleven.
Not a dramatic thirteen.
Ten.
Apparently tyranny required punctuality.
By the time I entered the chamber again, Mira had transformed the center of the room.
Symbols carved into the stone floor.
Candles placed in a circle.
A bowl of dark liquid steaming beside the fire.
I stopped walking.
“No.”
Mira looked up.
“Yes.”
“That setup says pain.”
“It says discipline.”
“It says kidnapping with decoration.”
Damon coughed to hide a laugh.
Kael did not.
But the corner of his mouth almost moved.
Almost.
“What is this?” I asked.
“The binding,” Mira said.
“I preferred ignorance.”
“You prefer complaining.”
Also true.
I hated that she kept being right.
Kael stood near the wall, arms folded.
Watching everything.
Watching me.
“You knew she planned this?”
“Yes.”
“And didn’t tell me?”
“Yes.”
“Are all powerful men emotionally useless?”
Damon muttered, “Seems high probability.”
Kael shot him a look sharp enough to skin bark.
I almost smiled.
Mira tapped the stone inside the circle.
“Sit.”
“No.”
“Sit.”
“No.”
She sighed dramatically.
“Kael.”
He crossed the room.
Of course he did.
I backed up immediately.
“Don’t you dare.”
He stopped in front of me.
Dark eyes steady.
“Voluntarily or inelegantly.”
“That is not a real choice.”
“It is today.”
I glared at him.
Then sat down myself.
“Congratulations. You’re both unbearable.”
The stone was cold beneath my legs.
The symbols around me glowed faintly silver.
That felt targeted.
Mira handed Kael a dagger.
My heart stopped.
Absolutely not.
“Why does he have a knife?”
“For the blood seal.”
“I reject this spiritually.”
Kael crouched in front of me.
“It’s shallow.”
“That is what villains say.”
His gaze held mine.
“You trust me.”
The words hit too directly.
I opened my mouth.
Closed it.
Then said the only safe thing.
“I resent how confident you are.”
Something warm flickered in his eyes.
He took my hand gently.
Too gently.
Which was worse somehow.
The blade nicked my palm.
Sharp sting.
Then he turned the dagger and cut his own.
Before I could react, he pressed our bleeding hands together.
Heat exploded through me.
The symbols on the floor blazed bright silver.
I gasped.
“What did you do?”
Mira smiled unpleasantly.
“Bound your power to his control.”
I stared at her.
Then at Kael.
Then back at her.
“You what?”
The chamber shook.
Candles flared high.
Silver light raced up my arms and across Kael’s wrists like molten thread.
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t move.
Pain hit me next.
Violent.
Burning through bone.
I cried out and tried to pull away.
Kael caught my shoulders.
“Stay with me.”
“I hate you!”
“Later.”
The pain surged again.
I lunged forward instinctively
Straight into him.
My forehead hit his chest.
His arms closed around me to hold me steady.
Strong.
Warm.
Unfairly comforting.
“Breathe,” he said near my ear.
“I’m trying to die.”
“Try breathing first.”
Then it stopped.
Just… stopped.
The silver threads sank beneath my skin.
Silence rushed in.
I realized I was half in Kael’s lap.
Again.
This was becoming a humiliating pattern.
I pushed away quickly.
Damon looked murderous.
Mira looked entertained.
“What does this mean?” I asked, climbing to my feet.
Mira answered first.
“When your power surges, he can calm it.”
I pointed at Kael.
“So my body is now supervised?”
Kael stood slowly.
“Temporarily.”
“That word means nothing when you say it.”
“It should.”
I wanted to throw something.
Preferably heavy.
Damon stepped forward.
“This is insane.”
Interesting. He’d finally found standards.
“You let her be chained to you?”
Kael’s expression cooled.
“I let her survive.”
“She didn’t consent.”
“I sat down,” I muttered.
Both men ignored me.
Rude.
Damon moved closer to Kael.
“You always take what you want.”
The room chilled instantly.
Kael’s voice dropped low.
“And you throw away what you had.”
That landed like a blow.
Damon lunged.
Of course he did.
I stepped between them.
Of course I did.
Again.
At this point I deserved medals.
“Enough!” I snapped.
The silver claws burst from my hands.
Both brothers froze.
Useful.
Very useful.
Then pain lanced through my chest.
I gasped.
Kael caught my wrist instantly.
The bond between our palms flared hot.
Relief washed through me so suddenly my knees weakened.
He steadied me.
One hand at my waist.
One around my wrist.
The claws retracted.
Damon stared.
Hurt this time.
Not anger.
I felt it like a bruise.
“So it works,” Mira said cheerfully.
I hated everyone here.
Before more emotional damage could occur, footsteps thundered outside.
A scout burst into the chamber, bleeding and breathless.
“Alpha”
He froze seeing the room.
Fair reaction.
Then forced the words out.
“Rowan is dead.”
Silence.
Cold and total.
Kael’s hand dropped from my waist.
“How?”
The scout swallowed hard.
“He was found at the border.”
A pause.
“Drained.”
Damon swore.
My blood ran cold.
Vampire.
The scout’s eyes shifted to me.
Fear there.
Open fear.
“He left a message.”
No one moved.
The scout’s voice shook.
“Written in blood.”
He looked directly at me.
Return the Queen… or I collect the pack instead.
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