Chapter 26

Soulbound

The moment Kael kissed her, the bond broke open completely.

Not emotionally.

Literally.

Dragonfire erupted through Black Citadel.

Somewhere far below the library, warning horns began sounding across the palace while golden flames burst violently through braziers along the walls. The entire tower trembled hard enough to shake dust from ancient shelves.

Neither of them noticed immediately.

Because the bond swallowed everything else first.

Heat slammed through Evelynn’s body like sunlight poured directly into her veins. The black markings around her wrist burned gold beneath her skin while Kael’s hand tightened sharply against her waist.

Then suddenly—

she could feel him.

Not emotions.

Everything.

His heartbeat.

The warmth of dragonfire moving beneath skin.

The sharp inhale he took every time she touched him.

The terrifying strength he constantly held back every second of every day.

It hit all at once.

Evelynn gasped against his mouth and staggered slightly as another pulse of dragonfire exploded somewhere deep inside the palace.

Kael pulled back immediately.

Too late.

The connection snapped violently between them.

And suddenly Evelynn wasn’t standing in the library anymore.

She was flying.

Cold night air tore through enormous black wings while clouds stretched beneath moonlight far below. The world smelled different here. Sharper. Fire and snow and prey carried for miles across mountain wind.

Not her senses.

His.

Kael’s.

Evelynn nearly lost balance as the vision slammed through her mind. Hunger. Altitude. Instinct. Ancient dragon awareness flooded her body hard enough to hurt.

Then another shift.

Stone beneath claws.

Gold piled high through dark caverns.

The unbearable urge to protect.

To guard.

To claim.

Evelynn gasped sharply and stumbled backward into one of the library tables.

Reality crashed back all at once.

The library.

The storm.

Kael standing directly in front of her breathing hard.

Both of them looked equally shaken.

“What,” Evelynn said breathlessly, “the hell was that?”

Kael stared at her like he no longer trusted reality.

The bond pulsed again.

And suddenly Evelynn knew exactly what his next emotion was before his face even changed.

Fear.

Not of her.

For her.

That realization hit so clearly she almost answered before he spoke.

“The bond awakened.”

His voice sounded rough now.

Unsteady.

Evelynn pressed one hand hard against her chest. “I could feel you.”

Kael went still.

“What did you feel?”

Too much.

God, way too much.

“The flying,” she said weakly. “The fire. The—” She stopped abruptly.

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly. “The what?”

Evelynn looked horrified suddenly. “You hoard emotionally.”

That actually startled a short disbelieving laugh out of him.

Tiny victory.

Then the bond surged again.

This time Kael reacted too.

His gaze unfocused for half a second before he looked back at her sharply.

“You’re cold.”

Evelynn blinked. “What?”

“You’re freezing.”

She opened her mouth to argue.

Then realized he was right.

Her hands had gone numb from the storm air leaking through shattered library windows.

Before she could react, Kael pulled off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders automatically.

The warmth hit instantly.

Not just physical warmth.

Him.

Smoke. Dragonfire. Cold mountain air.

The bond pulsed softer this time.

Contentment.

Evelynn looked up slowly. “Did you just emotionally project at me?”

Kael looked deeply offended. “That is not how resonance works.”

“You literally knew I was cold before I did.”

“…yes.”

“That’s horrifying.”

Unfortunately, part of her liked it anyway.

Which was probably another terrible sign.

Outside the library, shouting suddenly echoed through the palace corridors.

Then came pounding footsteps.

Kael’s expression darkened instantly.

“Stay here.”

“Historically that sentence never ends well.”

Too late.

The library doors burst open and three palace guards rushed inside looking pale enough to qualify as ghosts.

All three stopped immediately upon seeing Kael and Evelynn standing too close together while dragonfire still spiraled faintly around the room.

One guard swallowed visibly.

“My king…”

Kael’s voice turned instantly cold again. “What happened?”

The guard hesitated.

Then carefully:

“The palace flames awakened.”

Silence.

Not good silence either.

The guard continued nervously. “The lower sanctum reacted first. Then the city braziers.” He looked deeply unsettled now. “The dragonfire is responding across the entire mountain.”

Oh.

That sounded catastrophic.

Evelynn looked toward Kael slowly. “Please tell me that’s normal.”

Kael did not answer.

Wonderful.

The bond carried alarm from him now. Sharp and focused.

Not panic.

Worse.

Recognition.

Another pulse hit suddenly between them.

This time Evelynn saw through his eyes completely.

Black Citadel beneath the storm.

Every dragonfire torch across the city burning gold-white instead of gold.

Dragons circling high above the towers while roaring echoed through the mountains.

The city reacting to them.

Evelynn stumbled hard from the vision.

Kael caught her immediately.

Again.

The guards visibly noticed the way dragonfire throughout the library calmed the second he touched her.

One guard quietly stepped backward.

Smart man.

Kael looked down at Evelynn carefully now. “What did you see?”

“The city.”

His jaw tightened.

So she wasn’t supposed to.

Excellent.

Evelynn rubbed one hand over her face tiredly. “I’m starting to think this soulbond thing is less romantic destiny and more supernatural identity theft.”

That almost earned another smile from him.

Almost.

But then the bond shifted again.

Another emotion this time.

Not fear.

Not anger.

Need.

Strong enough that Evelynn suddenly felt it in her own chest too.

Kael noticed immediately.

His eyes darkened.

The atmosphere in the library changed instantly.

Heavy.

Warm.

Dangerous.

The guards noticed too.

One of them abruptly cleared his throat and looked anywhere except at the two of them.

Professional survival instincts.

Kael stepped backward first this time.

Distance.

Control.

But the bond didn’t weaken anymore.

Not fully.

Evelynn could still feel him there beneath her skin now. Constant. Warm. Alive.

No separation left.

Kael looked toward the storm raging outside the broken windows before speaking quietly.

“The resonance is gone.”

Evelynn frowned slightly. “Gone?”

His eyes returned to hers.

“What remains now,” he said softly, “is permanent.”

The words settled heavily between them.

And somewhere deep beneath Black Citadel, ancient dragonfire continued awakening after centuries of silence.