Valkhara
I was barely through the door before the tension exploded.
"He got in her head," Sevrin barked. "He reached her. That shouldn't be possible."
Azric stood against the hearth, arms crossed, voice tight with control he was about to lose. "We don't even know who he is yet."
Sevrin turned, furious. "And you don't think we should? You want to wait for him to come to us?"
"He's already inside her bond, Sevrin. If we provoke it—"
"I'll kill him if I have to."
"Try it," I snapped. "And see how fast I take your throat."
They both turned to me. Neither backed down.
Nyra groaned, flinging her satchel onto the table. "Gods, you two are exhausting. One of you's practically vibrating with murder and the other is whispering to shadows. Maybe take a deep breath before we all combust."
"Easy for you to say," Sevrin growled. "You're not the one being replaced."
"You're not being replaced," I bit out. "No one's being replaced."
"Then what is he?" Azric asked softly. "Because that voice wasn't just bonded. It was obsessed."
"I don't know," I admitted. "But I'm too tired to fight about it tonight."
Nyra nodded. "Sleep. Reset. I'll reinforce the wards. He can't get through unless you let him."
But even as she said it… I felt it.
That pull in the back of my mind.
Not violent.
Not forceful.
Just… waiting.
Like a locked door pulsing with heat.
I didn't mean to fall asleep.
But the second I did?
I was somewhere else.
Dark stone walls. A cold floor. Chains that rattled in the distance.
And a voice low, sharp, velvet-dipped and furious.
You came.
I turned.
He stepped from the shadows like he'd always been there.
Tall. Built like war. Bare-chested, muscles rippling with restrained violence. His hair was dark and tousled, jaw dusted with stubble, eyes—
Gods.
His eyes.
Not red. Not violet. But a strange, unnatural gold bright like flame, flickering like the sun trapped in a bottle.
I tried to move.
I couldn't.
The bond locked me in place.
He stepped closer.
"You smell like them," he said lowly. "You reek of them."
I didn't answer.
His hand lifted, hovering just above my face—but not touching.
"They marked you."
"Yes," I said quietly.
He laughed—dark and bitter. "And you let them?"
I bristled. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
He leaned closer. "The one who was promised to you before they ever knew your name."
His scent wrapped around me—cedar and smoke and something wild.
"You don't even know me," I whispered.
"I know your soul," he growled. "I've felt it every day for a century."
His fingers brushed my cheek, featherlight.
The bond snapped tight between us like a whip. I gasped, knees buckling—but he caught me.
One hand gripped my jaw. The other cupped my thigh.
"I've been locked away, dreaming of what I'd do to you the second I was free."
I swallowed. "You're not free."
"No," he said. "But you're here. And that's enough to start."
He pressed me against the cold wall, and his mouth hovered just above mine.
"Do they kiss you like they want to own your bones?"
I didn't answer.
"Do they fuck you like they're afraid of what's coming?"
His lips brushed mine—barely—and the bond flared so hard my body trembled.
"I'm not afraid of you," I whispered.
"You should be," he said.
Then he kissed me.
Hard. Deep. Devouring.
Like he wanted to taste every lie I'd ever told.
His hands roamed. His body pressed mine into the stone.
And when he broke the kiss, breath ragged, he whispered:
"When I'm free, Valkhara, I'm going to make them watch. I am going to fill you up with so much cum, your body wont
have any choice but to carry my heir."
I woke up screaming.
Azric was by the bed instantly, hand on my shoulder. "What happened?"
Sevrin burst in, blade already drawn.
I was panting, drenched in sweat, shaking.
"He touched me," I whispered.
"He what?" Sevrin snarled.
Nyra appeared in the doorway, wide-eyed.
"He touched me. He—he kissed me. I felt everything."
Azric cursed violently.
Nyra crossed the room. "The wards weren't enough. You must have… opened the door."
"I didn't mean to—" I broke off. "It was like he called to me."
Sevrin slammed a fist into the wall so hard it cracked.
Azric's voice dropped. "Did he say anything?"
I looked up, throat dry.
"Yes."
"What?"
I hesitated.
"He said when he's free… he's going to make you watch and he is going to get me fucking pregnant."