"Some bonds are not chosen — they are carved into our souls long before we understand their meaning."
Aisha felt her world shatter with the mere touch of Sanathiel. His presence wrapped around her, stripping her will and leaving her suspended between desire and fear. Every part of her screamed resistance, but her body would not obey. She was trapped in a spell she could not break, a connection she could not deny."Your freedom will come when you know who you truly are, Aisha," Sanathiel whispered, his voice soft, yet carrying a power that reverberated through every corner of her being.
The sound of her name on his lips rang like a deep echo in her mind. Something inside her stirred—something that had been asleep forever.Why can't I resist him? she thought, struggling to pull away, fighting against the invisible bond that bound her to him."Look at me, Aisha," Sanathiel commanded.
His hands closed gently around her face, forcing her to meet those golden eyes that stripped her bare. The intensity of his gaze trapped her, and the warmth of his touch melted the last defenses she had built to protect herself. Their hearts seemed to beat in unison, each pulse louder than the last. The outside world dissolved, leaving only that overwhelming connection."Why…?" she murmured, voice trembling. "Why do you make me feel this?"
Sanathiel did not answer at once. He studied her with a gaze heavy with certainty, as if every corner of her soul already belonged to him."Because we are the same," he finally said, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "You feel it, don't you? You can't escape this… nor me."
His words struck like a blow. Warmth rushed to her cheeks, and Aisha closed her eyes, trying to block out the intensity.This can't be real. It can't be true.
But his fingers traced along her jaw, sending shivers through her body. The touch was as soft as it was devastating, and every fiber of her being ignited with it."I am. And so are you, Aisha. Don't fight it," Sanathiel murmured, leaning closer.
When his lips brushed against hers, a torrent of emotions crashed into her. Desire, fear, confusion… and something deeper, something she could not name.No… I can't… but my body won't obey. His touch is fire. Poison. Or a call I don't know if I want to resist.
Her eyes fluttered shut, lost in the intensity, until a memory split the moment open like lightning:
Zaira.
The name was not just a memory. It pulsed in her blood, an echo that burned through every fiber of her being. With it came a blurred image, a surge of anguish. Aisha tore herself away, gasping, the memory shattering the spell that held her."You cannot control my destiny," she said, her voice trembling, yet filled with determination.
Sanathiel did not look surprised. His smile only widened, as if he had been waiting for that resistance."Your destiny is already written, Aisha. You are only denying the inevitable," he replied, his calm more unsettling than any threat.
Aisha stumbled back, shaking at the weight of his words. She searched the darkness for answers, for anything to cling to."It's hard to hold on to reason when pain consumes you… but if this is a dream, then I'm willing to vanish like snow melting under the sun," she whispered, her gaze distant.
Sanathiel watched her with a mix of understanding and expectation, as though he could read every thought racing through her.This cannot go on, Aisha resolved, fists clenching as she summoned every shred of courage left.
In a sudden motion, she drew the dagger hidden in her clothes and, in an act of desperation, plunged it into Sanathiel's chest."Cades! (You will fall!)" she cried, as his blood mingled with her own.
For a moment, time stopped.Sanathiel shuddered. His expression faltered. His body flickered like a candle on the verge of extinguishing… but then the wound began to close. Too fast. Too impossible.
The blade pierced his flesh, but the echo of pain rippled through Aisha. A burning lash struck across her chest, as though her very soul had been wounded.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as the wound sealed, vanishing as if it had never existed."You cannot destroy what is destined to you, Aisha," Sanathiel murmured with a smile. And then, in his golden eyes, her own reflection flickered… as though she were the one trapped inside him.
Terror and fascination clashed within her as she watched him regenerate. He was not human. He was not something she could ever hope to understand.
Aisha's gaze dropped to the lunar medallion in her hand, now glowing with an amber light, cracked in half. On its surface, ancient engravings revealed the image of a woman—her features unmistakably Aisha's—standing against a legion of shadows."Zaira," she whispered, though she did not know why, as an unknown force throbbed within her blood.
She staggered back, but she already knew—there was no escape. This bond was more than connection; it was a vow sealed into their souls. However much she resisted, Sanathiel was a part of her she could never deny.
A reminder of peace to others, yet for Aisha, it was a haunting echo, a mirror of the chaos inside her. Every step she took pulled her further from the solace she sought. And in her mind, one presence remained constant: Sanathiel. His name lingered like an invisible shadow, a whisper carved into her soul that not even time could erase.