Page 138 of House Ignis

Asher had left her with me. Apparently, ignoring me didn't extend to leaving me unguarded. But gods, I needed the male himself more.

I sighed, pulling on my uniform. My mind was already drifting toward the catacombs.

I had a meeting with Jules tonight and zero real answers so far—just those damn riddles and symbols Jax had left behind. Once dressed, Ember and I made our way down the winding Ignis stairwell.

The House common room was flooded with the soft, golden light of morning, the arched windows overlooking the crimson rolling waves of the Zymarrian Sea.

We grabbed our usual—strong coffee and a moon muffin—before heading toward the arena. Ember, of course, hadn't stopped prodding me since we crossed the threshold of my room.

Tell me again how his voice sounded through the bond when he… you know.” She grinned, nudging me sharply with her elbow.

I rolled my eyes, fighting a blush. "You're insufferable."

"I prefer 'delighted,' actually."

She didn’t know about Jax’s journal. Not really. She knew I was looking for answers, but not about the riddles, the symbols, or the secrets my brother had buried between those pages.

That was one disaster I was keeping to myself for now. So as far as Ember was concerned, my biggest problem was my spectacularly fucked-up love life.

We turned the corner near the training wing, and there he was.

Asher was leaning casually against a stone archway, shadows coiling softly around his boots like restless smoke.

His eyes locked onto mine the second I came into view.

"Darling," he murmured. His gaze fixed on me like I was a storm he'd summoned himself and was now daring to destroy him.

The bond ached. Deep and low, still carrying the phantom heat of last night. The hunger. That primal pull that made the simple act of breathing feel like a chore. Even with his mental walls hammered back into place, I could feel him there.

I didn't blink. I didn't waver.

"Maddox," I said flatly, the coldness in my voice a shield as I brushed past him.

Beside me, Ember practically choked on her own breath.

“I'm Team Maddox,” she stage-whispered, then leapt down the last few steps as if she'd just walked onto the stage of a live theater production.

I didn't respond. I couldn't. Asher's gaze was a physical weight burning into the back of my skull as we stepped out into the open-air Ignis arena. The Aegos Trials were screaming toward us, and training had officially become a battlefield.

Stone walls lined the massive circular arena, its sand floor scarred from dozens of earlier matches.

Professors flanked the edges with glowing crystals and clipboards at the ready.

Combat dummies hovered above rune-marked pedestals; shadow nets flickered in the corners; and water channels surged along the borders. Air glyphs shimmered like invisible blades while earth pillars pulsed beneath the floor.

It was an elemental playground designed to break us down and see what was left.

“Alright, first-years!” barked Professor Theron, striding into the center like a general preparing for war.

“Today is field rotation. You'll be paired randomly. Live element use is permitted. Control bracelets are required. Healing staff are on standby, so try not to die on my sand."

I scanned the field, my chest tightened. Everyone was here. But Ryven... gods. He should have been standing right there with us. Instead, he was still "officially excused," a polite way of saying he was a shaking mess recovering from a soul-poison.

Ember was practically vibrating next to me. "I swear to the gods, if they pair you with him, I'll eat a rock just for the drama."

Theron lifted a glowing crystal toward the sky. "Pairs will now be revealed. Step to your assigned quadrant."

Names shimmered into the air in burning light. And then I saw it.