The first thing I noticed was the cold.
It wasn't the biting kind, but the sort that crept into your bones slowly. The kind that made you feel small, even when nothing touched you.
I blinked up at the stone ceiling, eyes still heavy, heart pounding like it remembered something my brain hadn't caught up to yet.
Where…? My breath hitched.
Where am I?
The bed beneath me was too soft to be a prison cot. The sheets smelled like herbs, clean linen… and something faintly familiar. Kaelen.
The memory came crashing back. The Circle…. His voice.
That moment-He seemed absent minded.And then—
Nothing. Just black.
I sat up fast, head spinning. The room tilted, and I grabbed the edge of the bed to steady myself.
"What happened?" I whispered, my voice raspy.
I touched my wrist. It burned faintly, like something had been etched deep under the skin. I couldn't see it, but I felt it.
The bond. He really did it.
Kaelen bound himself to me.
The thought sent a wave of confusion and something else—something tighter and sharper—through my chest. I didn't know if it was fear or… something dangerously close to heartbreak.
The door was cracked open.
Voices floated in.
At first, just murmurs. Then clearer.
I froze.
"—she won't last long," a man said. His voice was low, hard. Familiar.
Kaelen?
No. Not fully.This voice was colder. Stripped.
"That's not the point. She just has to believe it. For now."
A second man replied, chuckling. "And when she does?"
A pause.
"Then we break her."
My chest clenched. I held my breath, not daring to move.
"I told you binding myself was the only way to keep control," the first voice said. "If she trusts me, she won't see it coming."
My stomach turned.
He couldn't be talking about me.
Could he?
The second voice lowered. "You sure about this, Kaelen? You're already losing your edge. Getting soft."
Another pause. Longer this time.
"I know what I'm doing," Kaelen said.
But his voice wasn't confident. It wavered—just slightly.
The second man stepped closer—I could hear boots scrape stone. "You're playing with fire."
Kaelen didn't answer that.
Silence stretched between them.
Then the second man sighed, muttering, "As long as she stays useful. The Queen won't wait forever."
Their footsteps started fading.
I pressed my hand to my mouth.
Useful?
Break her?
I stumbled back from the door, heart pounding so loud I thought it would give me away.
Why would Kaelen say that?
Was he lying all along?
I sat back on the bed, vision blurry with confusion. My fingers shook.
Was everything he did… fake?
That look in his eyes before the blackout—it had felt real.
But maybe I was wrong.
--