Page 96 of House Ignis

I hissed, hand flying to the cut. Asher froze.

His pupils blew wide, swallowing the silver until his eyes were pits of pure, terrifying onyx. The shadows around him coiled tight, and through the bond, I felt it: a hunger that wasn't human. It was dark, ancient, and electric.

"Asher…?"

He blinked, the silver slamming back into place, and lunged again without a word. We moved back and forth, blood dripping from my brow, his ribs bruised from my strikes. His shirt was gone, and every time I looked at him, the bond screamed.

I saw my opening. I slammed into his chest, flipping him with his own move. He hit the mat with a heavy grunt, and I landed hard on top of him.

One knee was pinned between his thighs, my hand pressed to the center of his bare chest. Our breath tangled in the narrow space between us. My lips hovered just above his, and beneath my skin, the bond hummed with a heat so intense it felt like lightning.

The silence was deafening, broken only by the frantic, synchronized hammering of our hearts.

His silver eyes flicked down to my mouth, the mercury depth of them burning.

"Rules," he murmured, his voice a hoarse, wrecked rasp.

Gods.

I blinked, my heart slamming against my ribs like a trapped bird. The tension snapped. I scrambled off him, my breath ragged, and offered him a hand—mostly to prove my fingers weren't still trembling.

He stared at my palm for a second, the blood we'd shared last night long dry but the memory of it humming in the air. Then, he took it. His grip was firm, calloused, and laced with a trace of cooling shadow.

He stood, towering over me again, blood smeared on his temple and a dangerous, dark smile curving his lips.

"That," he said, casually brushing off his leathers, "was hot."

I groaned and turned away, trying to shove the magic simmering in my veins back into its cage. "You're insane, Maddox."

I checked the time on the wall crystal—7:00 a.m. already. Classes started in an hour.

"First class is history," Asher said, tossing a towel straight at my face.

I caught it with a glare. "Thanks for the warning. Great fun." I looked up to snap a retort—and froze.

His eyes were black. Not just shadowed—black, like thick smoke had swallowed every bit of silver, a bottomless void staring back at me. But as fast as I noticed, they shifted, the silver slamming back into place like a shutter. Like nothing had happened.

"Shower time," he said casually, stretching until his muscles rippled.

"Excuse me?"

He strolled past, that maddening, predatory swagger in every step. "Relax, Princess. You can go first…" He leaned close, his voice dipping into velvet-smooth territory. "So I can watch."

My jaw dropped. "You are the actual worst."

He just grinned over his shoulder, unbothered. "Honestly? Regretting this whole thing already?"

"Deeply," I snapped, grabbing my jacket and stalking toward the exit.

Aether padded after me, flicking his tail with dramatic, feline flair. "I cannot believe this is my eternity," he muttered through the bond.

I didn't even respond. I was too busy replaying the image of Asher's eyes turning to pits of onyx. And the fact that my pulse still hadn't slowed down.

Students were already flitting about the halls, books in hand, but the morning chatter died the second we walked past. I realized why a second too late.

I was still in my Ignis sports bra, sweat-slicked and flushed, and the blood bond sigil on my collarbone was glowing like a gods-damned beacon.

Mortifying. Absolutely mortifying.