Page 119 of House Ignis

I left the tower, the air warm with dusk and the trees casting long, skeletal shadows over the path. I started with a slow jog toward the forest line, the bond quiet—resting.

But then… it stirred.

It was faint at first, then stronger the more I ran. It felt like a rope tied to my ribs, pulling me forward. My jog quickened, and my heart followed suit. The tug led me deeper into the outer fields near the woods. I rounded a bend and froze, ducking behind a thick oak.

And there he was.

Asher was training shirtless in the clearing like a god of war. Smoke curled around his bare shoulders, and shadows wrapped his hands like lethal gloves.

He was practicing spells I didn't recognize—dark, elegant, and violent. With every flick of his hand, the air trembled. Wisps of magic spiraled upward, casting silhouettes of death across the trees.

He looked terrifying. He looked beautiful. And I was absolutely stalking him like a lunatic.

Then he stopped—perfectly still—and looked directly toward my tree.

Shadows slid like liquid across the grass, coiling with wicked purpose. I spun around with a gasp, swatting at the darkness curling up my thighs like it had no damn manners.

"Get off," I hissed under my breath, batting uselessly at the smoke.

Of course, that didn't work. I turned back toward the field, but he was gone. The clearing was empty. The shadows were silent.

But the bond? It was humming now. With need. With amusement. With pure, unadulterated lust.

I narrowed my eyes at the empty space, my heart pounding like a war drum. "Okay, Bond," I whispered with a smirk. "I'll play."

I tore through the trees like a madwoman, dodging roots and branches, chasing a shadow I couldn't even see.

I didn't know why I was playing this twisted version of hide-and-seek, but the bond was tugging me like a leash, and I—like an idiot—followed. I told myself I just needed air, but we both knew that was a lie.

I needed him. Gods, I hated that.

But ever since the tryouts and that terrifying magic spike, something inside me hadn't settled. And the only person who would truly understand was the smug, shadowy bastard currently sprinting ahead of me.

How the hell was he so fast? His power moved like silk and a storm all at once. Umbra students really were a mystery box—silent, lethal, and always three steps ahead.

I stopped behind a massive trunk, gulping air, my chest heaving. "Where are you?" I whispered, wiping sweat from my brow.

The bond pulsed again—this time, to the left. I turned slowly toward the glowing mist just beyond the outer gardens.

The Moonlit Baths. Of course.

The Moonlit Baths were an ancient elemental pocket, the water magically warmed by fae essence and shimmering as if the stars themselves had liquified across the surface.

I crept closer, the wind dying down to a whisper, the last golden haze of sunset glinting off the steam.

I stepped through the final thicket of trees and nearly tripped over my own damn feet.

Because there he was.

The sun had just dipped behind the horizon, painting the water in bruised gold and amber, and Asher stood at the edge of the spring, pouring water over his head like some divine statue carved from shadow and sin. His muscles flexed with every movement—ink curling down his arms, water gliding in slow, agonizing rivulets over his chest and across the bond mark.

Those silver eyes were already on me.

The bond roared. Hard. A jagged wave of hunger rippled through the thread between us, so intense it made my knees weak. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't blink. I certainly couldn't look away.

His lips curled, smug and lethal. "Found me, darling," he murmured. His voice was a velvet tease that dragged over my sensitized skin.

My heart skipped. Twice.