Page 173 of House Ignis

"It's not the fucking bond," I said, each word precise and lethal. "I love him. More than I ever loved you. More than I ever thought was possible."

I stared down at my wrist—at his hand wrapped so tightly around me—and felt the last lingering shred of my guilt evaporate.

felt the last shred of my guilt evaporate. In its place, something colder settled. Resolve. I looked back up at him, my gaze as hard as obsidian.

"He's mine now. And our betrothal? Consider it over."

His grip didn't loosen. If anything, it tightened until I could feel the bone beneath.

Asher’s voice slipped through the bond, low and smoky.

"You scared me there for a second, princess."

I looked past Jeremy’s shoulder and met Asher’s silver eyes, satisfaction pulsing through the bond.

"Got to keep you guessing, Maddox," I purred back.

But whatever playfulness had been there vanished when his gaze dropped to Jeremy’s hand around my wrist.

He reached out and tapped Jeremy's shoulder—a casual, dismissive gesture that felt like the click of a trigger.

Oh gods.

eremy turned slowly, his entire body rigid with suppressed rage.

His eyes burned with a feral green light; Asher's were dead calm, as still as the surface of a black lake.

Asher stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking for all the world like he hadn't just walked up behind a ticking earth bomb.

“You should probably let go of her,” Asher said, his voice deceptively calm. "Unless, of course, you'd like to lose that hand. I'm not particularly picky about which one I take."

My heart dropped straight into my godsdamn stomach.

Ember and Ezra froze beside us, their magic flickering at their fingertips.

The music pounded across the courtyard, but inside our little circle, no one moved. The air drew tight.

It felt like we were caged, the very air drawn tight like a bowstring pulled to its breaking point.

Jeremy dropped my hand.

And then, without warning, Jeremy swung.

His fist connected squarely with Asher’s jaw.

All. Hell. Broke. Loose.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Asher looked up, blood dripping from his lip, and wiped it away with the back of his hand.

Then he smiled, that sharp, smug bastard grin that made my toes curl even as I wanted to scream.

Gods fucking dammit. The absolute testosterone in this circle was suffocating.

With one quick, brutal motion, Asher drove his fist straight into Jeremy’s throat.

"Asher!" I yelled, my eyes burning with fury.