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Damien’s voice wavered. “My mother went missing when I was fifteen. No one knew where she was, but I knew the truth. My father… he killed her. Archer didn’t believe me until he became a Serpent.

I was sent to boarding school at sixteen.

Hearing that Archer claimed a title and I was accepted into the academy felt surreal. I haven’t seen my father since.”

I brushed my thumb over his knuckles. “You can’t blame yourself for that.”

“In a few weeks, my father will place his bid, and it won’t be my name.

Archer will make his bid, too, and it won’t be yours.

He may even drag you back to the Night realm after this year.

He tries to shield his thoughts from me, but I know he’s already plotting how to exist as a Serpent while bonded to your dragon. ”

I shook my head. “He can’t do that. I deserve to be here just as much as he does.”

“The moment I met you, I heard your thoughts and thought I was listening to my own. I thought, for once, I could have something that was only mine.” Damien’s fingers laced with mine. “You know I’ll protect you. I don’t know why, but I can’t stay away.”

“I feel the same way,” I whispered.

“I’ve heard of worlds without dragons or quells. Where love isn’t a contract but a promise. A man at boarding school spoke of such lands. I’ve often wondered if these wards are meant to keep us in.”

“You remind me of my brother Cully. He always made me wonder what else is out there.”

Damien sighed. “Care for a dip? ”

“Is it safe?” I asked, eyeing the bubbling water nervously.

“If I say yes, will you go in?” Damien grinned, already pulling off his shirt.

I looked away, my cheeks heating as I saw his toned figure. “Fine. Turn around.”

Damien chuckled. “Severyn, I don’t know how to tell you this, but seeing your bare shoulders is hardly scandalous.”

“Then don’t turn around,” I muttered, peeling off my shirt and stepping into the water.

Damien followed, wrapping his arms around me. His thumb brushed my cheek as he leaned in. “I’m ready for you to kiss me,” he said.

He didn’t wait for my answer as his lips found mine. I melted into him, forgetting everything but the heat of his touch.

“It took you long enough,” I said.

“I wanted to kiss you that first night. And yes, Severyn, you were sort of flirting with me, but you’re terrible at it,” he laughed.

His forehead pressed into mine, and we stayed like that for what felt like hours.

Kissing a Summer student was borderline callous. But frost never coated my fingers. I wasn’t his poison. It would have made the perfect fable—ice and warmth, forced to sever. But two titles were up for grabs. And perhaps lust was my poison, but fuck, did making out with him feel like a damn cure.

His forehead pressed into mine. “I don’t know anything, Severyn. But I know I care about you.”

I rested against his chest, thumbing over the droplets. “I care about you.”

“It’s easier this way,” he said softly.

“What’s easier?”

“Nothing. We should head back. It’s past midnight,” he whispered once the air touched our sweltered faces.

I shook my head. “Okay. Yeah , we have class in a few hours. ”

I was thankful he couldn’t hear my racing mind while we waded through the water silently to shore.

Naraic and Emerich waited for us outside of the hot spring opening and flew us back to campus. We neared the shadowed dorms, and I thought he would kiss me again. I knew he knew I wanted him to from the screams in my mind.

But all he did was smile as a whisper escaped his clenched jaw, “Good night, Severyn. I enjoyed kissing you, but I don’t want us to rush into anything.”

I stifled the hoarse voice in my throat. Even my flames were simmered. “Good night, Damien.”

I caught my breath as I leaned against the stone wall.

Damien kissed me . I hugged my clothes to my chest before heading to the bath to wash off the hot spring water.

I pushed the heavy stone door open and filled the large quart tub.

I dropped my remaining clothes in a mound on the tile before sinking under the water.

I glanced at my reflection in the glass mirrors. I knew I would regret staying up this late once dawn hit in five hours. I knew, regardless, I would be tossing and turning in bed thinking about Damien—

The bathroom door opened.

I screamed, shoving myself into the corner of the tub as a dazed figure clutched his ribs. Archer stared wide-eyed before nearly slipping on the tile as he turned around. “ Shit , why are you up? You could have locked the damn door.”

No, please, no .

“The lock is broken. Damien normally guards the door for me,” I stuttered, looking him over and tracing the bloody bruises marring his skin.

“Why are you bleeding?” His arms were scratched between the torn clothing.

His shoulders and spine were exposed, marred with more lacerations. He reeked of liquor .

Archer tensed, glancing at the mirror but not at me. He would not dare look at me. “Get to bed, it’s past curfew.” He pointed at the door, fanning a hand.

A part of me wanted him to look, just to feel justified to be upset with him. He’d been gone for four days now. Reaching for the towel, I asked, “You didn’t answer my question. Why are you bleeding?”

“I’d rather not have a conversation while you are indecent. Please, Severyn, walk away.” He raised his palm, and the lanterns flickered before going out one by one, leaving us in the dark.

“Well, now I can’t see.” Striding toward the door, I used the wall to balance myself.

He opened his palm, releasing one shard of pure starlight that hung to a lantern. “Is that better?”

“No. Tell me where you were.” If Klaus’s death wounded him, what would his loss do to me? I was weak, barely holding on most days.

He sighed, his voice heavy. “There were a few attacks in Verdonia. We lost nearly a hundred guards today. An Autumn realm has been destroyed.” His shoulders slumped forward, and for once, I believed the mask he wore had slipped.

“Is Charles…” I couldn’t bear to finish the question.

“Charles is fine. The wards at Malvoria should hold for a few months.”

The tap dripped behind us, the sound echoing through the starlit room. Darkness had never appeared so radiant, prisms of light scattering across the stone walls. He hadn’t turned around yet, but I saw it—the breaking—within the slight tremble of his spine.

When power slipped, it was loud—the shakes, the quivers. Archer couldn’t hide misery from me. I’d grown up around it.

I couldn’t stop the pull to lean closer to him .

“And what about you?” I stepped toward him, daring to reach for his shoulder where deep lacerations bled. “Are you okay?”

He raised a hand. “I am fine, Blanche.”

I gave him a flat stare.

“Let me see your cut.” My fingertips skimmed the slice on his neck, and his eyes, like chips of ice, met mine. He didn’t pull away.

“Your hands are warm,” he muttered. “I’m not… used to it. Warmth.”

Built like a fortress, I couldn’t help letting my gaze wander as I took him in. If he were a statue, it would’ve been made from the finest clay, every muscle and bone perfectly chiseled. “It’s the flame,” I said softly.

Lowering my hand, he caught my wrist between two fingers. A silent yelp escaped me as he twisted my torso and pinned me against the wall. His shadow relic, rimmed with ash, flared beside mine.

“I don’t want you to care about me. I don’t want you around me,” he growled.

I stared at his hands gripping my wrist, my heart pounding against its cage. “I didn’t steal Klaus’s power, if that’s why you hate me.”

“I could easily kill you,” he said, leaning so close I could taste shadows—a mixture of coal and mist. “I want to kill you, but I won’t. Naraic’s bond is weak. Your life is in my hands.”

A cry broke through my tightened throat, flakes of ash dancing in the slim space between us. What was happening? He saw it, his eyes tracing the darkened flecks on my skin—our skin. His eyes lit like a fiery storm.

“How am I supposed to treat you?” I asked, my voice cracking. “You disappear for days… I… ”

His thumb skimmed my jaw, brushing away a single drop of water. “You knew I was safe. You can start by pretending all you know is my name.”

I swore he stole the breath from me. Maybe I had known he was safe. Darkness loomed in his irises, the same dusted shade of ash coating our bodies.

“Let me go,” I hissed.

“And then what? You run to my brother?” His gaze flicked to the pendant around my neck.

I raised a brow, refusing to rise to the bait. He locked his hip against my ribs. “No, I’m going to bed.”

He stepped away, his figure nearly swallowed by the shimmering starlight. “Don’t use this bath anymore. It’s not safe.”

I couldn’t force myself out of that room quickly enough. Clutching the towel to my chest, I darted to my dorm.

What was that?