I recovered faster than I should have.

One minute, I was on my knees, heart rattling against my ribs, lungs struggling to expand. The next, my body began to recalibrate, drawing in magic like breath, grounding me in a way I hadn’t expected.

It didn’t feel like healing, but I didn’t know what it was. It felt like my power had seen a door and walked through it without asking.

I stood slowly, the ache fading from my limbs, the world sharpening into clearer focus. But then I found the flicker, the first breath of flame before a fire takes, and it startled me.

“I feel it,” I said.

“Good,” Caelum answered. “Now shape it.”

I didn’t know what that meant. Not really. But I tried.

The current stuttered, then surged too fast. Light sparked at my fingertips—brief, blinding. I flinched back, breath caught in my throat.

“You’re resisting it,” Caelum said. “You’re afraid of what it might do.”

“I’m not’”

“You are,” he said plainly.

Fabian let out a long sigh. “She’s going to need more than words. Let her get her hands dirty. I’m suddenly curious how that pretty little explosion translates to combat.”

He stepped forward and dropped a small dagger into my palm. “Try it on me.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Hit me.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ll block it, and I’ll look stupid.”

He grinned. “Exactly. Call it a test,” he said, already stepping into the clearing. “You learn faster under pressure, right?”

I looked to Caelum.

He gave the faintest nod. “Control is born in motion.”

“Fine,” I said, stepping forward. “But don’t cry when I knock you flat.”

Fabian smiled. “Now that’s the spirit.”

He stepped forward, lazy and loose, and I didn’t even think—I reacted. The moment I lifted my hand, a jolt of power surged through me. It cracked up my spine, flared in my chest, and then blasted outward. No spell, chant, or finesse. Just raw magic. A wave of invisible force cracked outward from my hands

Fabian was thrown back hard. He crashed into a tree all the way outside the grove and stayed there for a beat too long before groaning, “Gods, I felt that.”

I rushed over, kneeling beside him. “Fabian—are you’”

“I’m fine,” he muttered, waving me off. “Bruised pride. Slight existential crisis. Same old.”

But there was a shadow in his eyes as he looked at me. The amusement was gone.

“You’re stronger than you think,” he said, sitting up with a wince. “And it’s only going to grow.”

I swallowed. “I didn’t mean to’”

“No, that’s the point,” Caelum said, stepping into my space. “You don’t mean to. It means to.”

His voice was low now and closer too, like he was right on top of me. And it caused goosebumps all over me. I looked up at him, and felt my heart thump.

Caelum was too close. His hand brushed mine and the hum of his power rolled over my skin like heat after lightning.

Beside me, Fabian groaned and waved a hand. “I’m going to get a drink. Or a concussion. Possibly both. She’s all yours.”

He left without another word, muttering under his breath about keeping his ribs intact for at least one more day.

And then it was just Caelum and me.

Caelum stepped forward, silent for a long beat. I could feel his magic tightening around us.

“Again,” he said simply.

“What?”

“You need to practice restraint. You can’t flinch and expect your magic not to react. So come at me.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You want me to fight you?”

“I want you to trust yourself,” Caelum said. “And I trust myself enough to handle it.”

I glanced around the Grove, then back at him.

Did he think I had a death wish?

Even without trying, Caelum radiated control and power. The kind that didn’t need to be spoken. I might have knocked Fabian off his feet earlier, but I’d had surprise on my side. This was different.

The pressure I felt building around us, that tightening in the air was his magical barrier. And I already knew I wasn’t getting past it.

Still, I moved into position. My body responded instinctively to the sharpness of his focus. I’d always trained against opponents out of my league. There was a certain thrill to it—risky, maybe reckless. But thrilling all the same.

And my magic sparked under my skin, eager to meet his.

The moment I stepped toward him, the Grove stirred. Branches swayed overhead, though the wind never touched them.

We circled each other. Footsteps soft. Breaths measured. Eyes locked.

Then I lunged—faster than I intended. He didn’t hesitate. Caelum sidestepped smoothly, twisting behind me. His fingers skimmed down my spine, more taunt than strike.

I spun, throwing a kick, then faked another—but he moved with maddening precision. Like he already knew each decision I’d make before I did.

Frustration rose in my chest, and my power responded. I released a controlled burst toward his chest—nothing too aggressive, just enough to test him. But instead of flinching, Caelum absorbed it and his own magic surged.

It met mine like wind meeting flame, but they didn’t clash. Our magic coiled, entwined and flared.

I barely had time to react before light exploded around us. The Grove flashed in response, a radiant flare pulsing through the clearing. The blast struck me.

I gasped as it sent me flying, but before I could hit the ground, Caelum was there—already moving, already catching me. One hand steadied my waist, the other cupped the back of my neck.

We crashed to the earth and rolled, sliding down the mossy slope toward the stream, landing hard, and tangled in each other. Shoulders pressed. Legs locked. Breathless.

All I could feel was the heat of his magic skimming along my skin. His chest rose against mine. I hadn’t meant to fall like this. Not just physically, but into him.

But the magic between us was sensational and mine wanted more.

We lay there, pressed together, magic still crackling between us. The hum of it wove through every breath I took, every heartbeat that stumbled beneath my ribs.

Caelum’s hand stayed at the nape of my neck, and his other arm was wrapped around my waist, his palm splayed across my lower back.

It was hard to breathe with him this close, but it was harder not to.

I looked up slowly. His face hovered inches from mine, features sharp and unreadable. His eyes—those golden, molten eyes—searched mine like they were looking for something he wasn’t ready to admit aloud.

“You’re holding back,” I whispered.
His gaze didn’t waver. “So are you.’’You’re holding back,” I whispered.

His gaze didn’t waver. “So are you.”

I didn’t know who moved first, maybe it was both of us. But the space between us vanished, and then his mouth was on mine, and it was fire meeting oxygen.

All at once, the restraint between us snapped like a fraying cord pulled too tight for too long. His lips slanted over mine with an urgency that made my fingers dig into his shoulders. I didn’t just kiss him back—I matched him. Heat surged through me like I’d been waiting for this spark all my life and only just remembered how to burn.

Caelum kissed like he was claiming something lost.

His mouth moved over mine, hungry and reverent, and I melted into it, into him, into the bond that had started humming louder than I could bear.

I arched against him, breath catching as his hands roamed like every inch of me deserved to be memorised.

When he pulled back just enough to speak, his voice was ragged. “This” is what the Grove felt,” he whispered. “You. Me. This bond.”

Before I could answer, the ground trembled under us. The moss peeled back in a ring around the stream, and light surged from the water, cutting up into the sky like a beacon.

Magic snapped tight in my chest so fast, and sudden, that I cried out and gripped Caelum’s arm.

He moved instantly, rising halfway over me, body angled like a shield.

“Luna?”

“I’m okay,” I whispered, my breath ragged. “It’s” I’m okay.”

Still, he didn’t pull away. He sat fully now, arms wrapping around me, anchoring me against him like he wasn’t entirely convinced I wasn’t about to shatter. I let him hold me, resting my cheek against the soft fabric of his robes, heart still galloping beneath my ribs.

Around us, a sphere of magic had formed—clear, glasslike, and trembling with threads of gold that pulsed along the edges like veins. I could feel it all. The pull, and the way my power leaned into his like it had been waiting for this moment all along.

I hadn’t expected this. I’d felt the bond react when Kael kissed me—yes—but this wasn’t the same.

This wasn’t a flare like his, it was a flood.

I reached out, tracing a glowing strand with my fingers as it pulsed, then fizzled like embers. My magic sparked in response, coiling with his, humming with a kind of joy that didn’t belong to either of us alone.

Caelum looked down at me. “It’s responding to you.”

I nodded slowly. “It likes you.”

He exhaled, and I swore there was something like relief in his breath. “You’re resonating. The convergence is” choosing.”

“I thought it already had,” I said quietly, fingers curling into his sleeve.

“So did I,” he murmured. “But it looks like it’s not done.”

He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, and I closed my eyes. For a moment, it was just the two of us caught in a bubble of power, heat, and everything we hadn’t had the words for until now.

And then the sound of footsteps landed outside the clearing. Caelum’s arms went still and I turned as the shimmer of the barrier dissolved, and Damien stepped through.

I sat up quickly, heartbeat stuttering. He didn’t look at Caelum or the magic dissolving around us.

He looked at me, and his eyes narrowed briefly before the emotion smoothed itself into something harder to read.

“I figured I’d find you here,” Damien said calmly. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Caelum stood slowly, eyes flickering between us. “We’ll pick this up later.”

He brushed a hand against mine before disappearing into the trees without another word. I stayed kneeling, trying to breathe, and think of what to say to the man I’d once been sure I loved first.

I stood slowly, brushing dirt from my palms, though it did little to settle the sting in my chest.

Damien watched me, arms crossed, face unreadable, but his eyes gave him away this time.

“I wasn’t hiding,” I said quietly.

“I didn’t say you were,” he replied.

“I didn’t plan for this you know,” I added. “Not with him.”

Damien gave a short breath of a laugh, tired, not amused. “You think I’m angry because it’s him?”

“You’re not?”

“I’m angry because it was never going to be me, and I let myself believe otherwise.”

I looked at him then, truly looked, and saw the grief he carried. The kind that came from loving quietly and too long.

“You should’ve told me,” I said, voice breaking. “We should’ve said something sooner.”

“I was scared,” he admitted. “I had my place. I knew what I was to you. I thought if I said it out loud, I’d lose even that.”

I swallowed. “What about now?”

“Now I’ve lost it anyway.”

My throat tightened. “Damien’”

He stepped closer, his eyes gentler now. “You don’t have to explain. I know how these bonds work. I know what Kael is to you now. What he is.”

He meant Caelum, but he didn’t say the name.

“I don’t know how to undo what I felt for you,” I whispered.

“You don’t have to,” he said. “Just don’t lie to yourself about what it is now. Don’t let it keep you from stepping into what’s next.”

I nodded, but it didn’t stop the ache blooming under my ribs.

Damien studied me for a long moment. “For what it’s worth,” he said softly, “I don’t regret loving you. Even if I was never yours.”

My breath hitched. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“I know.”

He stepped forward and, with the gentlest touch, leaned down and kissed me. It felt like a memory he didn’t want to forget. His lips brushed mine lightly, like a goodbye.

And when he stepped back, I felt the thread between us begin to fray. Before I could speak, movement stirred behind me.

I turned as Kael emerged from the trees, his green eyes sharp, posture rigid. His gaze locked onto Damien first, then dropped to me.

His jaw tensed, but he didn’t speak.

Damien inclined his head, respectful even now. “Alpha.”

“Gamma,” Kael returned, in that way he did when he wasn’t exactly pleased with Damien. It was the only time he used his title instead of his name.

Another silence settled before Kael’s gaze shifted back to mine, and this time, he looked. Not at my mouth, or my hands, or the way my shoulders curled inward from all of the tension.

He looked into me and I knew he’d seen the kiss.

But he wasn’t asking questions. He was waiting for answers.