"Some bonds are not chosen — they are carved into our souls long before we understand their meaning."
Aisha felt her world sway with the mere touch of Sanathiel. His presence engulfed her, stripping away her will and suspending her between desire and fear. Every part of her screamed for resistance, yet her body refused to respond. She was trapped in a spell she couldn't break, a connection she couldn't deny.
"Your freedom will come when you discover who you truly are, Aisha," Sanathiel whispered, his voice soft but charged with a power that echoed through every corner of her being.
The sound of her name on his lips resonated like a deep echo in her mind. Something inside her stirred, something that had been asleep for as long as she could remember."Why can't I resist him?" she thought, struggling to pull away, fighting against the invisible bond that seemed to tether her to him.
"Look at me, Aisha," Sanathiel commanded.
His hands gently cupped her face, forcing her to meet those golden eyes that stripped her bare. The intensity of his gaze trapped her, and the heat of his touch melted the last barriers she had built to protect herself.
Their hearts seemed to beat as one, each pulse stronger than the last. The outside world faded away, leaving only the overwhelming connection between them.
"Why...?" she murmured, her voice trembling. "Why do you make me feel this?"
Sanathiel didn't answer immediately. He studied her with a certainty in his eyes, as if every part of her soul already belonged to him.
"Because we are the same," he finally said, his voice unwavering. "You feel it too. You can't escape this... you can't escape me."
His words struck straight into her core. Warmth rose to her cheeks, and Aisha closed her eyes, desperately trying to block out the intensity of what she felt."This can't be real. This can't be true."
But the soft brush of his fingers along her jaw shattered her resolve. His touch was as gentle as it was devastating, igniting every fiber of her being into a fire she couldn't extinguish.
"I am you. And you are me, Aisha. Don't fight it," Sanathiel murmured, leaning closer.
When his lips brushed against hers, a torrent of emotions crashed over her. Desire, fear, confusion... and something deeper, something nameless."No... I can't... but my body won't listen. His touch is fire. A poison. Or maybe a call I don't know if I want to resist."
She closed her eyes, losing herself in the intensity of the moment—until a memory cut through the haze like a lightning bolt:"Zaira."The name was not just a memory. It was a heartbeat in her blood, a burning ache in every fiber of her soul.
The image of a woman surfaced, blurred and agonizing, and Aisha jolted back, gasping, as if the memory had shattered the spell binding her.
"You can't control my destiny," she said, her voice shaking but filled with determination.
Sanathiel didn't seem surprised. His smile widened, as if he'd been waiting for this resistance.
"Your destiny has already been written, Aisha. You're just denying the inevitable," he said with a haunting calm.
Aisha took a shaky step back, trembling at the weight of his words. She looked into the darkness, searching for answers in the void.
"It's hard to keep your mind clear when pain consumes you... but if this is a dream, I'm willing to disappear, like snow melting under the sun," she whispered to herself, her eyes distant.
Sanathiel watched her with a mix of understanding and expectation, as if he could read every thought crossing her mind."This can't go on," Aisha thought, clenching her fists, summoning all the courage she had left.
In a sudden movement, she pulled out the dagger hidden beneath her clothes and, driven by desperation, plunged it into Sanathiel's chest.
"Cades! (Fall!)" she cried as his blood mixed with hers.
For a moment, time stood still.
Sanathiel shuddered. His expression faltered for a heartbeat. Something in his body flickered, like a candle on the verge of going out... but then, the wound began to close.Too fast. Too impossibly fast.
"The blade had pierced his flesh, yet the echo of pain reflected back into Aisha. A burning lash seared across her chest, as if her soul had been wounded too."
Aisha stared in disbelief as the gash on his chest sealed, leaving no trace behind.
"You cannot destroy what was destined for you, Aisha," Sanathiel murmured, smiling.And then, in the reflection of his golden eyes, she saw her own image flicker—as if she were the one trapped inside him.
Terror and fascination collided within her as she watched him heal. Her mind couldn't process what she had just witnessed.Sanathiel was not human. He was something beyond her comprehension.
Aisha's gaze fell to the lunar medallion in her hand, now glowing with an amber hue, split down the middle.On its surface, ancient carvings showed a woman bearing her own features, defying a legion of shadows.
"Zaira," she whispered, the name falling from her lips without thought, as a force unknown pulsed in her blood.
She stepped back, but there was no escape.She knew it now.This connection was more than a bond; it was a vow etched into their very souls.No matter how much she fought it, Sanathiel was a part of her—one she could never deny.
A reminder of peace—but for Aisha, it was a haunting echo, a mirror of the chaos raging within her.Each step away from him only dragged her further from the tranquility she so desperately sought.And in her mind, one presence remained constant:Sanathiel.His name, an invisible shadow, a whisper burned into her soul—one that even time itself could never erase.