Marcus POV
You're planning to use me as a weapon in your revenge war?
I struggled in Aria's arms as she carried me through the arena, my claws digging into her uniform. Through our bond, I felt her exhaustion, her pain, and underneath it all—a burning determination that scared me more than anything else.
I didn't ask for this! I snarled mentally. I died escaping one prison just to wake up in another!
Her grip tightened, but not painfully. I know. I'm sorry. But neither of us chose our situations, Marcus. We can only choose how we survive them.
She pushed through the exit doors, and suddenly we were in a narrow hallway away from the crowd. The moment we were alone, Aria collapsed against the wall, her breathing ragged. Blood trickled from her nose.
What's wrong with you? I demanded, my anger mixing with unwanted concern through the bond.
"The seals," she gasped. "Bonding you... cracked them more. The countdown just got shorter."
How much shorter?
"Two days now. Maybe less." She wiped the blood away with shaking hands. "The stronger you get, the faster they break. But if you're not strong enough when they do break..."
We both die, I finished grimly. Through the bond, I could feel the seals inside her—like cracks in a dam that was barely holding back an ocean. Whatever power she was hiding, it was massive. Terrifying. What are you?
Aria's violet eyes met mine, and for a moment, I saw past the quiet, broken girl to something ancient and deadly beneath.
"I'm what happens when you destroy someone's entire world and leave them alive to remember it."
Before I could respond, footsteps echoed down the hallway. Aria immediately smoothed her expression into that blank, defeated mask. A girl with auburn hair and cold amber eyes rounded the corner, flanked by two friends.
"Well, well," the girl purred. "If it isn't the Beast Killer with her latest victim."
Through the bond, I felt Aria's pain spike—sharp and personal. This girl had hurt her before. Badly.
"Hello, Kira," Aria said quietly.
Kira. I filed that name away with the hatred I felt radiating from Aria. Another enemy. Another person who'd betrayed her.
"That thing is even smaller than your last one," Kira continued, examining me like I was garbage. "Honestly, Aria, it's like you're trying to fail. Oh wait—you don't have to try, do you? Failure comes naturally to you now."
Her friends laughed. Aria said nothing, just held me tighter.
Let me scratch her eyes out, I growled through our bond. Nobody talks to you like that.
I felt Aria's surprise at my defense, followed by warmth that made something in my chest ache. Soon, she promised. But not yet.
"I heard an interesting rumor," Kira said, stepping closer. Her voice dropped to a malicious whisper. "I heard your suppression seals are failing. That you've got maybe three days before everyone sees what you really are." Her smile was poison-sweet. "Damian told me. He tells me everything now. Things he never told you when you were together."
The bond between us trembled with Aria's rage and heartbreak. Kira had been her best friend once. I could feel that betrayal like a knife between the ribs—made worse because it was paired with stealing her fiancé.
"If you're here to threaten me, save your breath," Aria said, her voice steady despite the emotions screaming through our connection. "You've already taken everything that mattered."
"Not everything." Kira's eyes glittered dangerously. "You're still breathing. But Damian's family is very good at fixing problems. And you, Aria Winters, are a problem that should have been eliminated five years ago with the rest of your cursed bloodline."
The temperature in the hallway dropped.
I felt Aria's power surge through the bond—wild, barely controlled, responding to her fury. The suppression seals in her chest cracked audibly. For one terrifying moment, violet energy flickered around her body like flames.
Kira stumbled backward, her face going pale. "What—"
Aria shoved the power down with visible effort, but I felt how much it cost her. More cracks. More blood on her lips. More time lost.
"Leave," Aria said, her voice deadly quiet. "Before I forget why I'm staying hidden."
Kira ran, her friends scrambling after her.
The moment they were gone, Aria's legs gave out. She slid down the wall, still clutching me against her chest. I felt her heart racing through our bond, felt the seals inside her barely holding.
That was stupid, I told her. You just showed them you're dangerous.
"I know." She laughed weakly. "But it felt good."
Despite everything—despite being trapped, despite being dragged into her war—I felt my lips pull back in what might have been a smile. Yeah. It kind of did.
We sat there in silence for a moment. Through the bond, I felt her fear mixing with exhaustion. She was nineteen years old, carrying the weight of her murdered family and a revenge mission that would probably kill her. And now she'd bonded some random reincarnated human-turned-tiger who had no idea how to help.
Why me? I asked finally. Of all the beasts in that arena, why did you choose the smallest, weakest one?
Aria's hand stroked my head gently. "Because when I looked into your eyes, I didn't see a beast. I saw someone who understood what it meant to be trapped. Someone who'd been used and broken and thrown away." Her voice cracked. "I saw someone like me."
Something in my chest twisted painfully. She was right. In my human life, I'd been a corporate slave—worked to death for a company that didn't care if I lived or died. And she'd been a princess whose fiancé and best friend had betrayed her the moment she lost her status.
We were both survivors of worlds that had tried to destroy us.
I'm still angry you trapped me, I said.
"I know."
And I don't forgive you for dragging me into your war.
"I know."
But... I hesitated, then pushed the thought through our bond. If we're both stuck in this mess, we might as well survive it together.
Aria's smile was small but genuine. "Partners?"
Partners, I agreed reluctantly. But I'm not calling you master. Ever.
"Deal."
She stood slowly, cradling me in her arms. "Come on. We need to get to my dorm before anyone else finds us. And tonight..." Her violet eyes hardened with determination. "Tonight I start training you. We have two days to make you strong enough to survive what's coming."
What exactly is coming? I demanded. You keep saying 'war' but—
Aria's mental voice cut through mine, cold and certain:
When my seals break, my power will explode outward. Every tamer in a hundred-mile radius will feel it. They'll know exactly who I am and where to find me. And then Damian's family, Kira's family, and every other family that helped massacre mine will send their strongest fighters to finish the job.
My blood ran cold. How many fighters?
Last time? Fifty elite tamers and their beasts. Her grip on me tightened. My father was the strongest tamer in the empire, and they still killed him. So unless you and I become powerful enough to fight fifty trained killers in two days...
We die, I finished.
We die, she confirmed.
I stared up at her face—this exhausted, broken, determined girl who'd chosen me as her partner in a suicide mission.
You're absolutely insane, I told her.
"Probably." Aria smiled, and this time there was something wild and reckless in it. "But you're bonded to me now, Marcus. Which means you're insane too."
Through our bond, I felt her resolve. She wasn't planning to just survive the coming attack.
She was planning to win.
And somehow, impossibly, I realized I wanted to help her do it.