The Iron Hollows still smoldered behind them, a trail of heat and scent that clung to Liam's skin long after they broke camp.
He didn't look back.
Didn't need to.
Thalessa's hand brushed his shoulder as she fell into step beside him, armored again but still flushed beneath the plates. Her eyes held that same proud defiance... but now it was paired with something warmer. Wanting. Willing.
Around them, the rest of his wives moved like a warband. Vexa cracked her knuckles with every step. Kaelith twirled her blade, still smug from the last bond duel. Elyra glided just behind, mist clinging to her hips like silk that refused to let go. None of them had slept... not really.
And none of them complained.
The path ahead was broken ground, scorched and fractured, leading down into a canyon of black glass and twisted steel. The light shifted wrong here... blue one moment, crimson the next. Like the world couldn't make up its mind whether to burn or bleed.
> [Zone 19 Approaching: Blackspire Warrens]
Terrain Status: Unstable / Corrupted
Zone Temperature: Variable (Thermal Fluctuations Detected)
Known Inhabitants: ???
Bond Signature: Confirmed – Proximity Increasing
Liam slowed as they reached the ridge.
Below, Blackspire pulsed.
Spikes of obsidian jutted out of the crater like broken ribs. Between them, cracked towers leaned like drunk titans, steam rising from the fissures that laced the canyon floor. Movement stirred in the shadows... something fast, not animal.
Thalessa whistled low. "Looks like hell's been trying to breed."
"I've seen worse," Liam said, though his hand rested instinctively on his sidearm.
Elyra stepped up beside him, her veil whispering around her. "That bond signature isn't like the others. It's... personal. Focused."
Kaelith's eyes narrowed. "Meaning?"
"She wants you," Elyra said. "Not just as a target. She remembers."
> [System Notice – Override Probability: 91%]
Warning: Target displays Pre-Apocalypse Memory Threads
Affinity Spike: Obsessive | Possessive | Unstable
"Of course she does," Vexa muttered. "They always do. What's one more crazy woman in the harem?"
"That depends," Thalessa said, arms crossed. "On whether she wants to bond... or bite."
Kaelith smirked. "Either way, she'll end up under him."
Liam didn't answer. He was already moving, gaze locked on the black-glass pathway leading into the zone. Heat shimmered above it. Mist curled below.
And from somewhere deep within the ruins, a voice called out... not loud, but felt.
A whisper behind his ribs.
"You came back."
He stopped cold.
So did the others.
Thalessa stepped closer. "You know her?"
Liam's jaw tightened. "Not sure yet."
But the way the zone responded, the way it pulled at him, like a hook beneath the skin... said otherwise.
> [System Prompt: Enter Blackspire Warrens?]
Confirm Deployment Team (4 Maximum)
Rotation: Optional (Override Active)
Liam turned to the group.
"I'll need three with me. The rest hold the ridge until we know what we're walking into."
"Call it," Vexa said, stepping forward first.
But before he could answer, a soft voice interrupted from behind.
"Then I'll be the fourth."
Naia stood at the crest, wind stirring her cloak, desert-toned skin catching the light. She hadn't spoken much since her bond, but now her eyes were calm. Certain.
"I've been watching from the relay chamber. The energy here... it's off. You'll need someone who can keep your heart beating if things turn feral."
He nodded once. "Naia. Vexa. Elyra. Thalessa. With me."
Kaelith looked half-offended. "I better get first rotation after this."
"You'll survive," Liam said, smirking.
Kaelith rolled her eyes. "Barely."
They moved.
Down into Blackspire.
Where heat met shadow.
And something waited beneath the glass.
Something that already knew him by name.
---
Back at the ridge, Kaelyn sat on a jagged stone outcrop, one boot resting against the base of her thigh as she sharpened a blade she hadn't used in weeks. The edge gleamed in the shifting light, catching on the wind like a whisper of intention.
Sarya crouched nearby, her fingers dancing idly across a small array of proximity traps, each one primed and humming faintly. "You're sharpening that too fast," she muttered without looking. "Gonna ruin the edge."
Kaelyn didn't glance up. "It's already ruined. Like the zone."
The Ice Queen stood further back, arms folded across her chest, her long braid glinting with residual frost. She hadn't spoken much since Thalessa's bond. She hadn't needed to. The air around her said enough, sharp, cold, distant... but watchful.
"You're not sulking," Sarya said to Kaelyn, almost admiringly.
"I don't sulk."
"You pout."
Kaelyn's eyes narrowed. "You breathe too loud."
"Only when I'm near you."
That drew a smirk, thin and wicked.
From the edge of the ridge, a sudden updraft burst upward... dry heat clashing with lingering frost. The Ice Queen turned toward the rise where Liam and the others had vanished.
"He shouldn't be in there without us."
Kaelyn tilted her head. "He picked a team."
"Temporary," the Queen said. "And he'll need us when she starts trying to crawl into his head."
Sarya raised a brow. "Jealous already?"
"I don't get jealous," the Queen replied coolly. "I get possessive."
Kaelyn laughed softly. "That's worse."
Sheathing her blade, she stood and crossed to the Ice Queen's side. "You don't like her, whoever she is."
"I don't like what she stirs in him."
Sarya stepped between them, casually spinning a needle-shaped trap key between her fingers. "Then make sure you're the one he's thinking about tonight. We all get our turns. Some of us just take longer to heat up."
Kaelyn leaned closer to the Queen. "You ever heat up, ice girl?"
The Queen's smile was cold perfection. "Wouldn't you like to know."
Sarya laughed. "I would."
Then, without warning, the bond flared.
All three froze.
Not from pain. Not from danger.
But from resonance.
> [System Notice]
Bond Echo Registered – Blackspire Core Disruption Detected
Emotional Anchor Pulse (Liam): Intensified
Warning: New Bond Signature Attempting To Interrupt Bonds.
The Ice Queen stepped forward. "She's reaching."
Kaelyn's grip tightened. "Can she override the link?"
Sarya stood slowly. "If she tries... we'll remind him who's already claimed his nights."
They moved together, not in battle formation... but in alignment. Three forces, distinct but tethered to the same pulse. All waiting. All watching.
And when Liam returned from the depths of Blackspire... he'd have more than one storm to answer to.
---
Total Bonded Wives: 14
On Deployment: Thalessa, Naia, Elyra, Vexa
On Watch: Kaelyn, Sarya, Ice Queen
Next Bond Target: Class Unknown, Obsessive-Predatory Hybrid