He awoke gasping.
The sheets were soaked. His skin buzzed with leftover magic.
Seren lay beside him, already dressed in dark leather, her hair tied back like she'd never slept.
"What happened?" he asked.
"You survived."
"That… wasn't normal."
"Of course not. I'm not normal."
He sat up. The mark on his back had changed. The incomplete circle now glowed red, a jagged symbol through it—Bound by Flame.
"You're burning," she said. "Your magic's raw. Every time you think of me, it'll flare."
"I can't stop thinking of you."
"Then don't," she said, smirking.
That day, he lifted a stone pillar with one hand. Froze a river with a breath. Summoned a wall of fire when a merchant annoyed him.
Power surged like lust.
But it had limits.
When he tried to touch another woman—a healer at the market—his hand blistered.
Seren watched from a balcony, amused.
"You're mine now," she whispered from afar. "And your body knows it."
Kael didn't know whether to run… or beg for more.
He awoke gasping.
The sheets were soaked. His skin buzzed with leftover magic.
Seren lay beside him, already dressed in dark leather, her hair tied back like she'd never slept.
"What happened?" he asked.
"You survived."
"That… wasn't normal."
"Of course not. I'm not normal."
He sat up. The mark on his back had changed. The incomplete circle now glowed red, a jagged symbol through it—Bound by Flame.
"You're burning," she said. "Your magic's raw. Every time you think of me, it'll flare."
"I can't stop thinking of you."
"Then don't," she said, smirking.
That day, he lifted a stone pillar with one hand. Froze a river with a breath. Summoned a wall of fire when a merchant annoyed him.
Power surged like lust.
But it had limits.
When he tried to touch another woman—a healer at the market—his hand blistered.
Seren watched from a balcony, amused.
"You're mine now," she whispered from afar. "And your body knows it."
Kael didn't know whether to run… or beg for more.