Dante woke three days after Selena reclaimed her flame. The mark on his chest had faded to a scar—not abyss-dark like the Ghost Court's marks, but something closer to her blood-scars, something that suggested binding imposed through desperation rather than malice, through protection rather than violation for violation's sake. He opened his eyes to find Selena sitting beside him, her black anti-light flickering steadily around her form, stronger than it had been since her resurrection.
"You marked me," he said, his voice hoarse, his storm crackling weakly as consciousness returned. "Forced me unconscious. Stopped the combat before—"
"Before you died," Selena interrupted. "Before He Who Burns killed you through fire that knew your storm, that had learned to absorb your lightning, that would have ended you if I'd let you continue fighting."
