The night stretched on without mercy.
The storm had passed, but the scent of smoke still clung to the air.
Aiden sat on the floor, surrounded by shards of glass and faint trails of light that refused to fade.
His hands wouldn't stop glowing. Every pulse of gold beneath his skin burned not with pain, but with memory.
He saw flashes.
A marble hall drenched in red.
A silver blade piercing a heart.
A voice whispering, "Forgive me."
He gasped and pressed his palms to his temples, but the memories came faster faces he didn't know, names he couldn't recall, emotions too heavy to belong to him.
Then, amidst the chaos, he heard a sound the soft strike of boots across broken glass.
Elias.
"You're losing control," Elias said quietly, crouching beside him. His gloved hand hovered near Aiden's arm but didn't touch. "Breathe."
Aiden shook his head. "They're not my memories, but they're inside me. Every time I close my eyes, I see her die."
Elias's jaw tightened. "You shouldn't remember that."
"Why not?" Aiden snapped, looking up. "What are you hiding from me?"
Elias said nothing. His gaze flickered to the glowing marks on Aiden's skin runes that hadn't been there before.
When he finally spoke, his voice was heavy.
"Because that night… I was the one who killed her."
Silence.
The words hung in the air like ash.
Aiden's breath caught in his throat. The golden light in his veins pulsed violently, as if the soul inside him was screaming.
"You're lying," he whispered. "You saved me. Again and again, you"
"Because I failed once," Elias cut in, his voice hoarse. "And I won't fail again."
He stood, turning away, his shadow stretching long across the room.
"I was sworn to protect Lady Ariselle. But the gods demanded her blood. They feared the Flame she carried the same power that burns in you now."
"So you obeyed them?"
"No," Elias said, looking back over his shoulder. "I defied them. And they cursed me for it."
Aiden stared. The glow beneath his skin softened, pain twisting into confusion. "Then how did she die?"
Elias exhaled slow, trembling. "Because she asked me to."
The world tilted.
Aiden's knees weakened.
"She… asked you?"
Elias nodded. His eyes were distant, like he was looking through time.
"Her power was unstable. The gods had turned it against her. She begged me to end it to save the world she'd sworn to protect."
Aiden could see it now, flickering like broken film behind his eyes:
Lady Ariselle standing in the ruins of her palace, light pouring from her chest, smile trembling as she lifted his hand Elias's hand and guided the blade to her heart.
"Promise me…" she had said.
"If the Flame ever returns you will protect it, even if it wears another face."
The vision shattered.
Aiden gasped, falling forward Elias caught him this time, his hands steady, strong.
"I remember," Aiden whispered, trembling. "I remember the way she looked at you."
"Then you know why I can't let anything happen to you," Elias said, voice low. "You are her and you are more than her."
For a moment, they stayed like that breath mingling, power humming between them.
Elias's fingers brushed the side of Aiden's face, hesitant, reverent.
"You shouldn't be this close," Aiden murmured, but he didn't move away.
"I've been close to you for centuries," Elias said softly. "Even death didn't change that."
Aiden's heart pounded. His body was his, but the ache the pull belonged to something older.
"If you were cursed…" he whispered. "Then what happens if we"
Elias's lips curved in a sad smile. "Then the world burns again."
Before Aiden could respond, the sigil on his arm flared a searing light that made Elias flinch.
Voices echoed in his head, divine and cruel.
He is forbidden. The knight who defied heaven cannot touch the Flame.
Break the bond, or be unmade.
Aiden screamed as the light seared through his veins. Elias grabbed him, pulling him close, his arms wrapping around Aiden despite the pain that burned through his own flesh.
"I won't let them take you again!" Elias shouted, his voice shaking. "Not this time!"
The glow burst outward the markings branding Elias's skin where they touched.
But he didn't let go.
And for a fleeting heartbeat, the world stilled.
Only the sound of rain, and their ragged breathing, filled the silence.
When the light finally faded, Aiden lay limp in Elias's arms, unconscious but alive.
Elias brushed a hand over his hair, his voice barely a whisper.
"You're still too kind," he murmured. "Just like before."
He looked out the broken window, eyes cold once more.
"They won't stop hunting you, Ariselle."
"And I won't stop killing for you."