The moment it surged, I knew—it wasn't just power.
It was alive.
It slithered beneath my skin, clawing up my spine like it belonged there, like it had always been waiting for the right moment to awaken. And now it had. The thing inside me—dark, ancient, and monstrous—was no longer sleeping. It wasn't just energy. It was a presence. A hunger. And it wanted out.
I staggered back, hitting the stone wall behind me. Cold bit through my clothes, but the heat in my chest was unbearable. Every breath tasted like blood and metal, like something was breaking open inside me. My hands trembled uncontrollably, fingers flexing with a mind of their own, as if they belonged to something else entirely.
This wasn't normal.
This wasn't me.
And yet… it was.
I could feel Vaelen beside me—close enough to touch, but impossibly far. His presence should've calmed me, grounded me. Instead, it fueled the storm. Our bond—the tether forged by the gods—was a conduit. His energy poured into me, feeding the chaos, strengthening it until I could barely breathe. The bond was supposed to unite us.
Instead, it was breaking me apart.
"Vaelen…" The name scraped out of my throat like a dying breath. I could barely speak. Could barely think. But he heard me. His eyes locked on mine, wide and stricken. He tried to speak, but no sound came. Just that look—the one that said he knew. He felt it too.
And then—I reached for him.
No thought. No control. Just instinct.
The moment my skin met his, it started.
My power latched on. Draining him.
It wasn't like magic. It was worse—more intimate. Like ripping something sacred from both of us. My heart seized as I felt the draw, felt his energy slipping into me. I cried out, trying to pull back, but my body wouldn't listen. It wanted more.
"Stop!" I begged, voice shaking. "Please—stop this!"
But the bond didn't care what I wanted.
Vaelen staggered, jaw clenched, his body seizing beneath the weight of whatever I was doing to him. His skin paled. His breath hitched. I could see it all—feel it. The pain. The fear. The confusion.
But he didn't fight me.
He didn't blame me.
That was the worst part.
His eyes held no anger, only fear—for me. Not of what I might do, but of what this would turn me into.
And he was right to fear it.
Because the darkness inside me didn't want to stop. It wanted to consume. To devour. It whispered promises in my mind, tempting me to let go, to surrender. It would be easier. That voice sounded like mine - but A distortion. A warning.
I tried to fight it. To shove it back down.
But I didn't know how.
All I wanted was control—just enough to stop this from happening. Just enough to keep from becoming something unrecognizable. But the abyss didn't bargain. It took.
The fear started to spiral. My thoughts scattered. All I could see was the worst-case future—Vaelen dead at my feet, my hands still crackling with stolen power. Me, standing over him, hollow and monstrous, more god than girl.
And then—
It stopped.
Just like that.
The storm. The pull. The consuming hunger.
Gone.
Vanished, like a wave crashing and receding into nothing.
I stumbled back, breath coming in harsh gasps, my body wracked with shivers. My skin still burned with the memory of it. The air felt wrong. Off. Too still. The silence rang louder than the chaos ever had.
"What was that?" I whispered, not really expecting an answer.
"I don't know," Vaelen said, his voice barely audible.
I blinked, trying to focus, trying to slow my breathing. My legs buckled beneath me, forcing me to grab the wall for balance. Every part of me felt scraped raw, hollowed out by something I didn't understand.
And then—
He was gone.
I turned. Searched. Called his name in my head.
Nothing.
My heart stopped.
"Vaelen?"
No answer.
I scanned the room again, slower this time, dread sinking deep into my chest. One heartbeat. Two. Three. And still—no sign of him.
Where he'd stood just moments ago… was empty space.
The bond still burned faintly beneath my skin, but his presence was gone. Like a candle snuffed out. Like the gods had decided we'd tempted fate too far—and this time, they'd torn him away.