Chapter 8: When Bonds Begin to Burn
867 Words
The night air was colder than it should have been.
Estara stood on the balcony just outside her chambers, hands gripping the stone railing as she tried to steady her breathing.
Something was wrong.
Not politically.
Not emotionally.
Physically.
The collar at her throat pulsed.
Not painfully—but insistently. Like a heartbeat that wasn’t hers.
“...shit,” she whispered, fingers digging under the metal.
It didn’t budge.
Of course it didn’t.
A sharp wave rolled through her chest, down her spine—
And she gasped.
Behind her, the chamber doors burst open.
“Estara!”
Hazen.
Of course it was him first.
His footsteps were fast, urgent, no hesitation as he crossed the room toward her. “What did you do?” he demanded, grabbing her arm and turning her toward him.
“Nothing!” she snapped, breath uneven. “It just—started—”
Her words cut off as another pulse hit.
Stronger this time.
Hazen froze.
His grip tightened instinctively.
“…you feel that too,” he muttered.
It wasn’t a question.
Before she could respond, another presence filled the doorway.
“Something is wrong.”
Idrealle.
He stepped in slower, cautious—but his eyes were already glowing faintly, that amethyst hue brighter than before.
He was looking at her like—
Like he could see something.
“What?” Estara snapped. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
He hesitated.
Then, quietly—“…you’re… pulling at us.”
Silence.
“What does that even mean?” Hazen shot back.
Idrealle swallowed. “The bond—it’s not dormant anymore.”
And then—
A laugh.
Low.
Knowing.
“Well,” Bianca’s voice slid into the room as she leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, “that explains the sudden need I felt to find you.”
Estara’s head snapped toward her.
“You too?”
Bianca’s smirk was slower this time. Less playful.
“…yes.”
The air shifted.
Something unseen tightened between them.
Estara took a step back—and immediately regretted it.
The moment she moved away—
The pressure increased.
Sharp.
Demanding.
“Don’t—” Idrealle stepped forward instinctively. “Don’t put distance between us.”
“Why?” she snapped, panic starting to bleed through.
“Because it’s making it worse,” Hazen said through clenched teeth.
And he wasn’t wrong.
The farther she stepped—
The more it hurt.
Not just her.
All of them.
Bianca pushed off the doorway now, expression more serious than Estara had ever seen it.
“This isn’t normal,” she said. “The bond shouldn’t activate until a key is accepted.”
Estara’s heart pounded.
“I haven’t chosen anyone.”
“That’s the problem,” Bianca replied.
Another pulse hit—
And this time, all four of them reacted.
Hazen sucked in a breath.
Idrealle staggered slightly.
Bianca’s tail snapped sharply behind her.
Estara nearly dropped to her knees.
“Okay—nope,” Hazen said quickly, stepping closer again. “We’re not doing this distance thing.”
He grabbed her wrist again.
And instantly—
Relief.
Not gone.
But dulled.
Manageable.
Estara blinked.
“…that helped.”
“Yeah,” he muttered. “I noticed.”
Idrealle stepped closer too, hesitant—but determined.
The moment he crossed that invisible threshold—
The pressure shifted again.
Balanced.
Different.
Estara exhaled shakily.
Bianca watched for a second longer before clicking her tongue and joining them.
“Looks like we don’t get a choice tonight.”
The second she stepped within reach—
Everything snapped.
Not painfully.
Not violently.
But completely.
A surge of energy ran through all of them, like something ancient had just woken up.
Estara gasped.
Images flickered behind her eyes—
Teeth.
Wings.
Blood.
Moonlight.
Heat.
Emotion—not hers, but theirs—crashed into her all at once.
Fear from Idrealle.
Defiance from Hazen.
Desire from Bianca.
And something deeper beneath all of it—
Recognition.
She stumbled forward—and they caught her.
All three of them.
Hands on her arms, her waist, her back.
Grounding.
Holding.
Connected.
For a moment, no one moved.
No one spoke.
They were too aware of each other.
Too close.
Too much.
“This…” Idrealle whispered, voice shaking, “this isn’t supposed to happen like this.”
Hazen let out a breath. “Yeah, well, nothing about this has been normal.”
Bianca tilted her head slightly, eyes locked on Estara.
“…you didn’t choose,” she said softly.
Estara swallowed.
“No.”
Bianca’s lips curved faintly.
“Then why does it feel like you already have?”
Silence.
Heavy.
Real.
Because Estara felt it too.
Not one.
Not two.
All three.
And that?
That wasn’t part of the rules.
Her fingers tightened slightly against them as she steadied herself.
“…we don’t tell anyone about this,” she said finally.
Hazen nodded immediately. “Agreed.”
Idrealle hesitated—but followed. “…yes.”
Bianca smiled.
“Oh, I love secrets.”
Estara exhaled slowly.
Because deep down—
She knew this wasn’t something they could hide for long.
The bond had started.
And it wasn’t asking permission anymore.
- Writer
