Page 7

The fire between us burned quiet and furious. Archer held my gaze, and in it, I saw the rage he kept buried.

He snapped against it, muscles tense, shadows flickering beneath his skin. “Severyn,” he growled, maybe out loud, maybe in my mind.

Either way, I didn’t let go. The rope sizzled around his wrist, embers biting into the stone.

“I need to fight this myself,” I said through the bond. “You won’t always be here to protect me.”

Rok laughed, shoulders rolling like he was readying for a fight. “Gods, you Serpents are always so dramatic.” He cast Archer a crooked grin. “Don’t worry, Lynch. You’ll get your failed bargain back when I’m done with her. But Severyn belongs to me now.”

My heart seized.

“I claim her,” Rok said louder. “I claim her as my heir. Look at her now.”

He was mocking Archer from the Serpent Bid.

I stepped out of the line. “Archer has nothing to do with me,” I said. “He was only trying to help.”

Rok licked his lips like he’d won something. “Bladecasting starts in half an hour,” he said. “Don’t be late.”

Then he vanished into the crowd, and I was left breathing through the sting of blistered skin, reminding myself that I had no choice. That Archer couldn’t always step in. And I didn’t want to face him right now—let alone explain why I’d bound him back with flame .

Around me, the crowd thinned. The first stage of initiation was over. Or so I thought. I turned, scanning for Myla, when a hand landed gently on my shoulder.

“Sev.”

“Cully,” I breathed.

I spun and collapsed into him without any hesitation. My arms wrapped tight around his middle, pulling me into the familiar scent of parchment and glue. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

He held me just as tightly. “Fieldwork,” he murmured. “I finally escaped the prisons.”

I looked up, and golden eyes met mine. Klaus’s eyes. The sight shattered something deep inside of me. Hisgolden blond hair had grown longer, one side was tucked neatly behind his ear. He wore a red sweater vest, a single V stitched over the heart.

For a moment, I saw every version of myself at once—the failed Winter heir, the girl who clung to fairy tales, the sister who curled beside him as he read by candlelight. I wasn’t sure if she still existed.

“Why Malvoria?” I asked quietly.

He clutched his notebook against his chest. “My professor thinks something’s building here. With the final Serpent trial coming… someone’s going to take the throne, and I need the story.”

He looked different. No glasses. Broader shoulders. Like someone had spilled a growth elixir down his spine.

“I missed you,” I whispered. “You’ve filled out.”

But I didn’t know where to start—what to tell him, or how much. Blanche blood always came at a cost, and Cully was here chasing a story. I needed to be sure he wouldn’t trade me for a headline.

And Gods, did I have a headline .

Myla stepped beside us, offering a tired smile. “Sorry about Rok,” she said. “He’s a menace on a good day.”

“I wouldn’t call him a menace,” I said. “More like... anger issues.”

I gestured at Cully. “Have you met Myla? She was my friend at the Academy.” Though now, I wasn’t sure if we still were. Not since she got close to Bridger and things got weird between us.

Cully’s notebook slipped from his hands as his face paled. “Excuse me? You two know each other?”

“She saved my life during Serpent initiation,” I said. “We met on the first day.”

His jaw locked. “You never told me you knew my sister, Myla.”

I blinked. “Wait. You two know each other?”

A snort echoed from behind us. “Oh, they know each other well,” Antonia drawled. “Better than most. If you catch my drift.”

My jaw dropped. “You’re seeing my… brother?”

Myla tucked a curl behind her ear, glaring at Cully. “I’m not sure what we are.”

“Cully!” I smacked his shoulder. “I didn’t even know you talked to girls.”

His gaze dropped to my shadow relic, and his expression shifted. “Severyn,” he said slowly. “I have a lot of questions.”

“I have a lot of question—questions,” I corrected, heat rushing to my cheeks. “Most of which I’m not sure I want the answers to.” I folded my arms. “But please—enlighten me with your questions.”

“No one’s getting titled here,” he said, though his mouth tightened.

“After three months in the prison sector, I transferred. Malvoria keeps better records. If someone’s crowned, I’ll know.

This place…” His eyes swept the walls, as if already imagining the headline within the cobwebs and faint smell of death. “It has potential. ”

“Well,” I said coolly, “do let me know if I can be of service.”

“You won’t be able to do much from in here,” he muttered, then hesitated. “But I’m glad you’re alive. I thought about you and Knox every day. How is he?”

To him, our legacy was dead. No Blanche heirs left to claim the Northern title. “Knox is fine,” I said, though I wasn’t sure it was true. I hadn’t seen Knox since the Bid.

Then a voice slid into my mind. “ Severyn Blanche. Meet me at the entrance. Alone.” It was Archer, and he sounded furious.

Cully bit his lower lip. “You seem… different.”

“I’m not twelve anymore, Cul. And I’d prefer if my name didn’t end up in your notes.”

“I can’t promise that,” he said, too softly. “I’m a journalist.”

Archer hissed through the bond again, “Severyn, I’ve been patient. But now that I’m no longer bound by flame—don’t tempt me. I might just throw that punch at Rok after all.”

“I’ll be back,” I muttered, casting a pointed look between Cully and Myla. “And don’t go into any rooms alone.”

By the time I reached the doors, Archer was already there. His jaw was locked, arms folded tight across his chest. I didn’t give him the chance to unleash the fury I’d just kept from boiling over.

“I just found out Cully’s sleeping with Myla,” I said, stepping into the courtyard. “It’s a disaster.”

Archer didn’t even blink. “You were nearly on your knees from a forced quell test, and that’s what you’re worried about?”

“Cully doesn’t date,” I snapped. “He lives in books. Not... people.”

His brow lifted, mouth twitching. “Could be worse. Myla might end up your sister-in-law.”

I groaned. “They are hooking up. That’s not the same. If he were courting her—fine. But she had no idea what they were. And that’s— ”

Exactly what we were.

Archer stepped in, close enough that his shadows skimmed my sleeve. “Forget your brother’s sex life for one godsdamned second.”

I stilled. “Why am I here? You should’ve had a say.”

“I did have a say.” His jaw ticked. “I brought Kian here to watch over you.”

I froze. “You what?”

“He doesn’t know,” Archer said quickly. “Not about the heirship. Not about the Gemini dragons. And we’re keeping it that way until I can explain how a flame-wielder became heir to Night.”

I scoffed. “And how exactly am I supposed to hide that ?”

“Don’t show your mark,” he said simply. “Unless you plan on being shirtless often, it shouldn’t be hard.”

I raised a brow. “Maybe I will.”

A flicker of a smile curved his mouth. “Then I suppose the guards should prepare to lose their eyes.”

“It should have been Kian,” I snapped. “Now he’ll think you brought him here because he failed as your potential heir. Myla already thinks you’re a tyrant.”

“I’d rather be the villain in his story than leave you alone. Kian is strong. He’ll protect you.”

I lifted my chin. “I have Myla and Cully, and I’m strong.”

“Myla’s taste in men is questionable, and Cully still must earn my trust. You might light hellfire, but I care about you.”

“You care about me?”

“Of course.”

Shit. Antonia was right, I was persuaded by Archer. He was only a damn flirt. “I don’t want to be here.”

“Oh, I know. After that dinner with the king and Charles, I half expected chains dragging from your ankles. ”

I stiffened. I hadn’t realized he’d been watching through the bond. I didn’t even know how to tap into his eyes.

“I’m shocked Sabitha didn’t convince you to stay away from me,” I muttered.

His brow lifted. “Sabitha? The Briber?”

“She said she was heading to Demetria. Her exact words: she couldn’t wait to be beneath you .”

His smirk deepened, toeing the edge of infuriating. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone’s been listening to gossip. And not the mind-reader kind. The jealous kind.”

Before I could respond, a clawed shadow unfurled from his palm. It coiled around my waist, dragging me against him in one fluid motion.

His breath brushed my ear. “If a ward designed to injure me for touching you didn’t stop me,” he murmured, voice low and deliberate, “what makes you think anything will get between us?”

My breath hitched. “Foolish of you.”

His dark hair tousled in the wind, shadows curling like smoke from his wrist. “Not as foolish as nearly getting expelled trying to save me. Now that you’re not writhing in pain, I feel no guilt calling your choices reckless.”

“Believing you were dead wasn’t reckless,” I said. “And don’t forget, you give me orders, I do the opposite.”

He huffed a low laugh. “So tying me up back there with a flame rope was your idea of rebellion?” He leaned in, shadows flickering at the edges of his smile. “Because that felt suspiciously like a bedroom request.”

My jaw clenched. “You can’t protect me here like you did at the Academy. And punching the captain of the recruits isn’t going to help me now.”

His hand brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “Don’t count me out. The wards won’t let me inside without notice... but if you need me, you know how to reach me. ”

He didn’t say it, but I felt the bond thrumming beneath my skin like a second heartbeat. I swallowed, skirting the question neither of us dared to ask: What were we now?

“I guess I’ve got two brothers watching over me,” I murmured. “Though I’m sure your time at the academy kept you away from your duties as a ruler.”

He didn’t flinch. “ Our duties,” he corrected, voice calm. “You’re my heir.”

The words cut deep. I looked away, a warmth curling in my gut.