Chapter 9: TIES THAT BURN
Third-Person POV
Sera hardly made it two corridors before the warmth returned. A slow, irritating burn at the center of her chest—like someone had pressed a candle against her skin and decided to leave it there permanently.
She tried ignoring it. Obviously.
Except ignoring something that felt practically alive was impossible. Her shadows kept twitching at the edge of her vision, reacting to something she refused to acknowledge.
No. Not refused. Denied. That was more accurate.
She shoved her hands into her pockets and pushed through the Academy hallway, weaving past groups of whispering students still buzzing about the Mate Identification spell. A few glanced at her chest like they could see the glow that had appeared earlier.
She glared back until they looked away.
Exactly. Look somewhere else.
Leona finally caught up, practically stumbling to match Sera's pace. "Okay. I'm calm. I'm fine. Totally fine. I'm not panicking."
"You're definitely panicking," Sera said.
"I'm not," she insisted, voice high, face still red. "I'm simply… processing."
"Sure," Sera nodded, "processing. Very loudly."
Leona shoved her lightly. "This is serious. Seth is—he's—"
"Your mate?" Sera supplied.
Leona groaned. "Don't say it like that! You sound like you're reciting bad news."
"It is bad news," Sera said flatly. "For me."
Leona blinked. "Are you… okay?"
Sera shrugged once. That was all she could manage.
They walked in silence for a while, until Leona muttered under her breath, "My chest won't stop tingling."
"Mine is burning," Sera replied. "You're lucky."
Leona hesitated, lowering her voice even more. "Do you feel… anything else?"
"No."
It came way too fast. Even Sera knew it.
Leona stared. "That sounded like seven layers of denial stacked on top of each other."
Sera opened her mouth to respond, but Alaric appeared at the far end of the hall, talking to another angel, his expression guarded. When his eyes drifted toward her—just briefly—the warmth shot through her chest again like a pulse of heat.
She inhaled sharply and looked away.
Pretend nothing happened. Her specialty.
She walked faster.
The Academy's underground training hall always felt colder, carved from stone and metal—much less magical than the rest of the school. Sera liked it because it reminded her of simpler things. Fighting. Strength. Survival. None of the emotional mess her life was currently drowning in.
Students gathered near the mission board—different realms, different creatures, all acting like they weren't one spell away from internal emotional chaos.
Seth leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed, looking annoyingly comfortable. He spotted Sera immediately and grinned like he'd been waiting for her.
"Well, well. If it isn't my favorite demon."
"Please never call me that again," she muttered.
"You didn't deny being mine though," he pointed out, winking at Leona.
Leona practically combusted.
Sera looked at him dryly. "You are insufferable."
"And you—" Seth pointed to her chest, "—are glowing."
She slapped his hand away. "No, I'm not."
"You are," he shrugged. "Kind of cute, actually."
"Stop talking."
Leona's eye dimmed. But she was happy that she at least had Damien. She loved him, and if her mate doesn't want her, she has him.
Alaric arrived then, tension carved into his shoulders. His eyes flicked between them—first Seth, then Sera. Something darkened in his gaze, but he said nothing.
He didn't have to. The whole atmosphere shifted, like air thickening.
The instructor—a tall witch named Master Halden—stepped forward, voice deep and sharp. "Listen up. Today, you're starting preliminary mission assessment. You'll be assigned partners based on compatibility and trust. Three each. But for now, two each."
Seth smirked. "Oh, this is going to be good."
Halden scanned a list. "Seraphine and—"
Sera stiffened.
Please not him.
Please—
"—Alaric."
Of course. Hell's sake. She sighed.
Leona made a tiny distressed noise. Seth muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "predictable."
Alaric simply nodded once. "Understood."
Sera did not. But she forced her face blank. She'd had years of practice pretending things didn't matter.
---
Training room seven. The door closed behind them with a heavy thud, locking automatically. Runic walls glowed faintly. A small table sat in the center with scrolls, maps, and weapon catalogs.
Sera kept distance—physically, emotionally, all of it.
Alaric watched her silently, then finally said, "I didn't plan this."
"Obviously," she muttered. "I doubt you plan anything involving me."
He let out a quiet exhale. "Actually, that's the problem. I do plan. And lately, everything revolves around you."
She stopped flipping pages. "Don't say things like that."
"It's true."
"I don't care."
He stepped closer, voice low. "Sera. Look at me."
"No."
He almost laughed, but it came out soft and conflicted rather than amused. "You're impossible."
"I agree. So please stop trying. I said please."
Silence stretched between them. Long enough for the warmth in her chest to flare again, annoyingly insistent.
Alaric leaned against the table, steadying himself. "Heaven sent me here with a purpose. I can't ignore that."
Sera looked up slowly. "And what is that purpose, exactly?"
His jaw tightened. "To find the devil's heir."
"You keep saying that like it's some impossible mystery," she said coldly. "There are hundreds of demons here. And you already know who the devil's heir is."
"I do. And I want her."
Those six words felt heavier than any threat she'd ever heard.
"…meaning?"
He looked at her like he was seeing everything she tried to hide. "Meaning the signs match you, and I have to kill you or make you mine."
She didn't flinch. Didn't blink. Just stared back.
Her voice came out steady. "Then you should do what Heaven wants, shouldn't you? I pick the former."
"Don't say that," he snapped, voice rough. "Don't make this sound easy. If you accept to be my mate, they'll understand. I'll make them."
"It is," she replied. "Duty over feelings. That's your entire personality."
He flinched like she'd cut him. Then he spoke quietly, almost desperate, "You think this doesn't destroy me inside?"
"Stop," she said sharply. "Do not say things like that. I don't want a mate. I don't need a mate."
"But you have one," he said, stepping closer.
Sera felt her heartbeat jump.
He reached out—slowly—touching nothing but air near her hand. Not actually touching, but close enough that her skin warmed.
"Sera," he said again, voice barely above a whisper, "every moment I'm near you feels… inevitable."
"I refuse inevitability," she said.
His eyes softened. "And I refuse losing you."
She stepped back instantly. "You don't have me. So there's nothing to lose."
---
Outside the room, Seth watched through the glass wall, arms folded, face unreadable.
Halden approached. "Observing your partner?"
"Something like that," Seth muttered.
The instructor followed his gaze. "The angel and the demon. Fate enjoys complications."
Seth shrugged once, jaw clenching. "Fate should mind its own business."
Halden gave him a pointed look before moving away.
Seth stayed. Watching them. Thinking.
Adam growled inside his mind, restless.
Focus on our mate.
Later, Seth answered.
As if actually listening, Adam growled again.
---
The mission scroll glowed on the table, a small seal burning gold at the top.
Alaric finally broke the silence. "We have a reconnaissance task tomorrow. Off-campus."
Sera blinked. "Tomorrow?"
"Yes. Portal travel. Angel-led."
Her stomach twisted. Great. More Heaven influence. Exactly what she needed.
Alaric hesitated, voice low. "I'll keep you safe."
She stared at him. "You don't need to."
"Yes. I do."
Their eyes locked. Heat pulsed between them, that same burning sensation, but stronger now—sharper, like invisible chains pulling them closer no matter how far she stood.
Sera stepped away first. "I don't want this."
"No," he said quietly, "but your soul does."
She turned sharply and walked out, shadows flickering behind her.
Alaric stayed there, expression breaking for a moment—just long enough to see the fear he'd been hiding.
He whispered to the empty room, "Why her?"
No answer came.
Only the silence of Heaven.
---
Back at the dorms, Sera sank onto her bed, pressing her palm against her chest. The warmth pulsed again, soft at first, then stronger—as if someone whispered her name from inside her own heartbeat.
She hated it.
She whispered to herself, voice flat, "I don't want him."
Her shadows stirred. Vex slid from her shoulder and smirked.
"Liar."
Sera slammed her hand against the mattress. "I'm not lying."
But the warmth didn't fade.
---
Across campus, Alaric knelt in a secluded prayer hall, hands pressed to the marble floor, wings faint behind him.
A divine voice echoed through the chamber, cold and distant.
Report, Alaric.
He swallowed hard. "I've found her."
Silence. Then—
"Eliminate her."
His breath shook. "I… cannot."
"Then she will destroy you."
Alaric closed his eyes. "She already has."