“That’s not the point.” I shake my head, frustration bleeding through. “It wasn’tmethat held back. It was you. Your presence, your magic, something about you kept me tethered. But what happens when that’s not enough?”
Her expression softens, and somehow that’s worse than fear would be. Because she’s not afraid of me. Not the way she should be. Not the way I’m afraid of myself.
She presses her palm more firmly against my chest. “Then let me be your anchor again.”
I blink. “What?”
“If I could pull you back once, I can do it again.” Her voice carries absolute conviction. “Let me be that for you.”
My hands clench at my sides. “I don’t want toneedyou for that.”
A breath that’s almost laughter escapes her. “Too bad.”
I search her face for doubt, for the self-preservation that should make her run from someone like me. Find nothing but stubborn determination and something that looks dangerously like trust.
Just Kaia, offering me what I can’t ask for.
Hope.
Choice.
Her.
Her voice wavers for the first time. “I need you too, Aspen.”
Everything in me goes still.
She doesn’t look away, even as vulnerability cracks her careful composure. “I need you, and that terrifies me.” Her grip on my shirt tightens. “Because I don’t know how to do this—how to trust these bonds, how to let people in. But I know I choose you. And if I have to fight for you, I will.”
Something breaks open in my chest. “You shouldn’t have to fight for me.”
Her expression turns fierce. “That’s not your decision to make.”
The air between us changes, charged with something electric. I’m suddenly aware of everything—her scent, dark and sweet and uniquely hers,the way her fingers feel curled in my shirt, the space that’s somehow both too much and not nearly enough.
Behind her, I catch the soft ripple of shadows retreating, giving us privacy. Even her magic understands this moment is ours alone.
For once, I stop thinking. Stop fearing. And I let myself want her
Then she tugs me forward.
And I’m lost.
Her mouth meets mine desperate and demanding, and whatever control I’ve been clinging toshatters. My hands find her waist, pulling her against me as I walk her backward until she hits the bookshelf. She gasps but doesn’t retreat. Instead she presses closer, body melting into mine like she’s been waiting for this as long as I have.
A sound rumbles from my chest, half growl, half surrender. Her nails scrape against my neck, and fire races down my spine. I deepen the kiss, one hand tangling in her hair, the other gripping her hip like she might disappear if I let go.
The bond flares between us, not the forced connection from the Hall but something chosen, somethingearned. The berserker inside me stirs, not with rage but with something infinitely more dangerous.
Want.
Need.
Mine.
I break away just enough to rest my forehead against hers, both of us breathing hard. My hands shake where they hold her, the intensity of what I’m feeling almost too much to contain.
“Still think you’re a monster?” she whispers, breath warm against my lips.
