Page 21 of Chains of Love

She doesn't even turn her head. The silver strands of her hair whip in the wind, catching the dying sunlight like strands of precious metal. Those cursed charms she weaves into it chime softly with each determined step.

"The sun's setting. Unless you plan to navigate in the dark—" I let the threat of night predators hang unspoken between us, knowing she understands the dangers as well as I do.

"I can conjure light," she snaps, that faint green glow already beginning to pulse around her fingertips.

My fingers flex at my sides. "And waste your energy when we could just stop and rest?"

She keeps walking.

I grab her arm, spinning her to face me, feeling the slight tremor of magic beneath her skin. "Enough. You're being childish." The charms in her hair jingle mockingly as she jerks against my grip.

"Let go of me." Her green eyes flash dangerously, that eerie glow intensifying with her anger. The air crackles with the threat of her power, but I've faced worse than a temperamental witch.

"Make camp with me, or I'll sit right here and the bond won't let you go any further." I tap the invisible tether between us with my own magic, watching her flinch at the reminder of our forced connection.

Her nostrils flare. For a moment, I think she might try to drag me along anyway - it wouldn't be the first time she's tested the limits of our binding. Then her shoulders slump, the fight draining from her like water from a broken vessel.

"Fine." The word comes out bitter and sharp, but I'll take her surrender, however reluctant.

We set up camp in tense silence, each movement deliberate and distant. The fire crackles between us, casting dancing shadows across her face that make her look older, more haunted. The scar on her cheek—my doing, from our first violent encounter—catches the light and makes my sword hand twitch with the memory.

"Lirien." I wait until she looks up from where she's methodically arranging her herbs, those unsettling green eyes fixing on me like a predator's. "I think we should strengthen the bond."

"No."

My jaw tightens until I can feel the muscle jumping beneath my skin. "Yes," I snap back, leaning forward into the firelight."This isn't just about you. I'm stuck with it, too, okay? Every time you fight against it, we both suffer."

She whirls toward me, her silver hair catching the firelight like liquid moonlight, those cursed charms tinkling with the sudden movement. "I get it! You don't have to keep rubbing it in my face that this bond is the worst damn thing to happen to you!" Her voice cracks on the last words, betraying something deeper than mere anger.

"Lirien, that's not-"

"Oh, save it!" A bitter laugh escapes her throat as she paces, her robes swishing against the grass. "You're just saying this out of pity anyway."

I rise to my feet, the muscles in my jaw clenching tight enough to ache. "I don't pity you, I just don't want you to die! Is that so hard to believe?" The words come out harsher than intended, but the frustration of these endless arguments has worn my patience thin.

"Yes!" The word explodes from her like a spell, her green eyes blazing in the darkness with that eerie light I've come to know too well. "After everything? After what you said to me? Yes, Darak, it's nearly impossible to believe."

Her voice carries the weight of our shared history, of blade against magic, of hunter and hunted.

My hands find her shoulders before I can stop myself, and she stiffens under my touch like a startled deer. The familiar sensation of her warmth bleeds through the fabric of her robes.

"Feel it," I say, my voice dropping low, almost to a whisper. The bond, our connection, is strong, like a living thing made of shadow and starlight, impossible to ignore when we're this close. "Feel me. This isn't pity, and I'm not being insincere."

I can taste the truth of my own words, bitter and sweet on my tongue, wondering when exactly this demon stopped being my enemy and became something else entirely.

The connection thrums, carrying the weight of my conviction. Her eyes widen as the truth of my words flows through our shared link.

"Whatever." Lirien yanks away from my grip, her silver hair catching the firelight as she turns.

My patience snaps like a bowstring pulled too tight. "We need to strengthen it. Together, we could?—"

"No." She wraps her arms around herself, shoulders hunched.

"Why not?" The words come out harder than intended, echoing in the night air. The fire pops, sending sparks dancing between us.

She spins to face me, green eyes bright with unshed tears. "Because there's a chance that it won't be able to be removed, and then you'll be miserable with me for the rest of your life." Her voice cracks on the last word, and something in my chest breaks with it.

The self-loathing in her voice ignites something primal in me, a fury that anyone - even herself - would dare think so little of her worth. Before I can think better of it, I cross the distance between us in two determined strides.

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