The moment the shadow spirit’s claws sank into Ariaxa’s shoulder, the world broke.
She gasped —
a wet, choking sound —
and blood sprayed across the marble.
Her knees buckled.
Kaedan caught her before she hit the floor.
The spirit screeched, trying to pull its claws free—
Kaedan grabbed it.
Not with strategy.
Not with magic.
With bare, shaking hands.
He roared — a sound that tore through stone, rattled the chandeliers, sent every soldier in the corridor to their knees.
He ripped the spirit apart.
Not cleanly.
Not quickly.
With the savagery of a beast whose mate had just been stabbed.
Shadow ichor splattered the walls.
The corridor trembled.
The lights flickered.
Ariaxa sagged against him, breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
Her blood soaked through his hands.
“Ariaxa—Ariaxa, look at me,” Kaedan begged, voice shaking so violently it barely formed words. “Stay awake. Stay with me. Don’t fade—don’t you dare—”
Her mouth opened.
A soft, wet cough.
Blood dripped down her chin.
Kaedan’s breath shattered.
“No.”
He lifted her fully into his arms, pressing his hand to her wound, trying to stop the bleeding, failing.
“NO!”
Sunfire sparked helplessly in her palm.
Shadows crawled from her wound.
The bond snapped tight, sending a shockwave so strong Kaedan’s spine arched with the force of it.
Because he felt it.
The claws dragging through her flesh.
The tearing of muscle.
The burning sting of shadow.
Her agony.
His scream echoed hers.
He clutched her tighter, nails digging into his own palms until they bled.
***
Riven and the mage-healers burst into the corridor, gasping at the carnage.
“Get them apart!” one healer shouted.
“WE CAN’T,” Riven barked. “The bond—!”
Kaedan’s head snapped up, eyes wild.
Her pain hit him in a wave—
He doubled over, choking.
Ariaxa whimpered, pressing her forehead into his chest.
The healers tried again.
“If we use Sun magic to seal her wound—”
“It will kill him,” Riven finished through clenched teeth.
“Then if we use vampire regeneration—”
“It could corrupt her,” the healer whispered.
Ariaxa’s fingers twitched.
Kaedan’s breath hitched in agony.
“No,” he growled. “No magic touches her. NOTHING touches her.”
The healers exchanged terrified glances.
“Emperor—if we do nothing, she will die.”
“And if she dies…” Riven whispered…
Kaedan’s eyes blazed with murderous promise.
“I die with her.”
The bond surged painfully through both their bodies — gold-red, pulsing like a living thing, dragging their souls closer.
Ariaxa moaned, clutching Kaedan’s sleeve with trembling fingers.
Her voice was barely there.
A breath.
A ghost of a sound.
“Kaedan…”
His entire body stilled.
“Ariaxa?” he whispered, leaning over her.
Her eyes opened — weak, unfocused, glazed with pain.
Yet she looked up at him.
At him.
And somehow managed a tiny, heart-wrenching smile.
“Kaedan… let me heal you too.”
The bond reacted instantly.
Bright.
Violent.
Blinding.
Gold.
Red.
Sun.
Shadow.
Magic erupted between them, spiraling like twin flames clashing in the dark.
Kaedan’s eyes widened in terror and awe.
“Ariaxa—no—”
Too late.
The bond flared gold-red.