The corpse lay on the ritual slab, skin pale and drying.
Its mouth was sewn shut with silver thread—Xander's mark of silence. But silver was no match for blood magic.
Damien stood to Ariana's left, stone-faced. Asra to her right, her eyes wary.
"You sure about this?" Asra murmured. "Blood interrogation's not just dangerous. It's corrupting. It opens you to everything the dead saw. Felt. Feared."
Ariana nodded, voice low.
"I need to know where Clara is."
Damien hesitated. "If he touches your mind again—"
"I'll burn him out," she snapped.
Their eyes met. Heat surged.
He wanted to protect her.
She was done being protected.
"Let's begin," she said.
---
The spell circle glowed red beneath the corpse. Ariana cut her palm and let the blood drip onto the dead assassin's chest.
A jolt of power slammed into her body.
The runes ignited.
The corpse's eyes snapped open.
And Ariana fell inside.
---
She was back in the prison.
Chains. Screams. Fire.
She saw Clara again, thinner now. Bruised. But alive. And fighting.
But then—another memory.
A dark hall. Xander standing before a mirror of ice, talking to someone cloaked in shadows.
> "The girl has awakened the bond. The moment she steps outside the Keep, she's mine."
The mirror shimmered.
> "And what of Damien?"
Xander smiled. "He'll burn for her. He always was weak for beautiful things."
Ariana pulled away, breathless.
"Clara's in the Hollow Bastion. North of the dead marsh. There's a hidden door in the ruins. Xander knows I'll go."
Asra gasped. "He's baiting you."
"I don't care," Ariana said, standing. "I'm going."
---
Later that night
She was packing when Damien found her.
His presence filled the room like a thunderstorm.
"You're not going alone."
"I wasn't asking permission," she snapped, not turning.
"You think you're ready for him? You nearly died this morning."
"I saw her, Damien. She's alive. And he wants me. Not you."
Silence.
Then his voice, low, dangerous.
"You are mine, Ariana. Marked. Bonded. Claimed. You don't make war decisions alone."
She spun on him, eyes blazing.
"I'm not your prisoner. I'm not your pet. And if you try to stop me—"
His hand slammed into the wall beside her head.
"I'll chain you to my bed if that's what it takes to keep you breathing."
A beat.
Then her voice—cold, cutting.
> "You don't get to protect me anymore. You made me strong, Damien. Now let me be strong."
The silence between them cracked like glass.
He was breathing hard, jaw clenched, torn between fury and desire.
Finally, he stepped back.
"You leave at first light," he growled. "But you're not going alone."
She blinked.
"You'll let me go?"
He leaned in, voice a whisper.
"No. I'm coming with you. And if anything touches you out there, I'll rip the realm in half to keep you safe."
His lips brushed hers—possessive, fiery.
Then he turned away.
"Be ready. We ride at dawn."