Page 300 of House Ignis

The bond was screaming now, a discordant, beautiful symphony of our combined lust and the dark, jagged edge of his power.

"I can't—" I gasped into the bond, my vision starting to swim with gray spots.

"Yes, you can," he growled.

He reached around, his hand finding my center and grinding his palm against me with punishing force.

"Take it for me. Right here. With them watching."

The irony was delicious. The "perfect" princess of House Ignis, being broken and rebuilt by the shadow of Umbra in the middle of a public training yard.

The sheer wrongness of it was what finally pushed me over the edge. I came with a muffled, high-pitched keen that died against his skin, my muscles clamping around him in a desperate, rhythmic pulse.

Asher let out a low, guttural sound, his head dropping to the crook of my neck as he followed me into the abyss.

He shuddered against me, his shadows flaring briefly in a wild, uncontrolled burst before settling back into a calm, impenetrable veil.

We stayed there for a heartbeat, heaving for air in the silent, dark pocket he’d created.

Outside the shadows, the sounds of practice continued—the clashing of wooden blades and the barked orders of the instructors—completely unaware of the wreckage we’d just made of each other.

He slowly withdrew, his hands lingering on my hips as he leaned down to kiss the mark he’d left on my shoulder.

"Now," he murmured, his voice returning to that lazy, lethal rasp as he started to help me pull my clothes back together.

"Let's go show them why they should be fucking terrified of the Trials."

•••

The rest of the session was a blur of sweat and high-intensity drills.

We cycled through the other drills, and by some miracle, no one seemed to notice a thing—except for Ember.

She was holding the pads for me now, her eyes sharp as she absorbed the impact of my punches.

"So you guys fucked right over there, didn't you?" she breathed, a huff of a laugh escaping her as I landed a solid right hook.

"Yeah... fuck, I don't know what's going on." We swapped places, my turn to hold the pads as she stepped into her stance.

"Well, I mean, two weeks is a long time for Fae," she murmured, her left glove connecting with a sharp crack against my palm.

"I know, but this is way different than before," I said, adjusting my grip as she came at me again.

"I don't know how to explain it, but gods, it's feral."

I couldn't help it—my gaze drifted over to Asher.

He was doing the same drill with Ezra, his movements fluid and lethal. He felt my eyes on him instantly and flashed a grin that was nothing but pure, unadulterated heat.

It poured through the bond like molten lead, settling deep in my gut. Fuck. Again.

I swallowed hard and forced myself to look back at Ember.

“Like, I don't even know how we're going to get through the Trials at this rate,” I breathed out, my hands going slack as the round ended.

Ember grabbed two bottles of water from the bench and tossed one to me.

"Well, clearly the bond is stronger, which is good. It’ll make the Trials easier. You two always focus better when you're together; you work as a team. I wish I had that," she murmured, her gaze flickering toward Ezra with a shadow of frustration.