The adrenaline was a lie.
As soon as the iron gates thudded shut behind Thorne's retreating party, the fire in my blood turned to lead. My knees buckled, the world tilting on its axis. I didn't hit the floor. Gabriel's arm caught me, a band of iron against my waist, hauling me flush against his heat.
"Steady," he grunted. His voice was a low vibration that resonated through my very bones.
"I'm fine," I lied, the words slurring as my head lolled against his shoulder. My vision was swimming with silver spots, the cost of venting that much Primal energy in human skin.
"You're a terrible liar, little wolf."
Before I could protest, he scooped me up. This time, I didn't have the strength to push him away. I let my forehead rest in the crook of his neck, breathing in the scent of cedar and the sharp, metallic tang of his own dormant power. He didn't take me back to my room. He carried me up, higher into the fortress, to the open-air training terrace that overlooked the black abyss of the valley.
The moon was a jagged shard of bone in the sky, casting a cold, ethereal light over the stone. Gabriel set me down on a fur-lined bench, but he didn't pull away. He knelt between my legs, his massive hands resting on my knees.
"The silver fire... it's eating you from the inside out," he murmured, his abyssal eyes searching mine. "You're trying to use a sun to light a candle, Aria. If you don't learn to channel it, your own power will incinerate your heart."
"Then teach me," I whispered, my voice trembling not from fear, but from the terrifying proximity of him.
The air between us was thick, charged with the lingering static of my outburst. Gabriel's gaze dropped to my lips, and for a heartbeat, the King of Rogues looked... hungry. Not for blood. For me.
"Training isn't just about throwing punches," he said, his voice dropping to a gravelly rasp. "It's about the link. You're a Primal. You're connected to everything—the moon, the earth, and... me."
He took my hand and pressed it against his bare throat. I could feel his pulse, a heavy, rhythmic thrum that matched the beat of the mountain itself.
"Close your eyes," he commanded.
I obeyed. The darkness behind my eyelids wasn't empty. I could feel Gabriel's aura a vast, swirling vortex of black ink and hidden stars. It was terrifying. It was beautiful.
"Find the fire," he whispered, his breath ghosting over my lips. "Don't push it out. Pull it into the center. Anchor it to me."
I reached deep, past the exhaustion, and found the spark. It was a roaring white furnace. I tried to pull it back, to coil it around my spine, but it resisted. It wanted to burn.
"It's too much," I gasped, my skin beginning to glow with a faint radiance. "Gabriel, I can't..."
"You can. Use me as the ground."
His hands moved from my knees to my waist, pulling me closer until there wasn't a breath of space between us. The contact was a lightning strike. My power, sensing his darkness, didn't explode it flowed. It poured into him like a river meeting the sea.
I let out a shaky breath, my head falling back as the pressure in my chest finally eased. The silver light dimmed to a soft hum.
When I opened my eyes, Gabriel was staring at me with an intensity that made my breath catch. His eyes were no longer just black; they were swirling with silver reflections my power, mingling with his.
"Aria," he breathed, his name for me sounding like a prayer and a curse.
His hand moved up, his thumb brushing my lower lip, pulling it down just enough to reveal the slight point of my growing fangs. The tension snapped.
He leaned in, crushing his lips against mine. It wasn't the desperate kiss from the balcony. This was a claim. It was raw, primal, and tasted of moonlight and salt. I tangled my fingers in his dark hair, pulling him closer, needing the friction, the heat, the proof that I was alive.
His growl was a physical thing, vibrating through my chest as he backed me against the stone wall, his body a heavy, muscular weight pinning me in place. For a moment, I wasn't an exile or a Queen. I was just a woman, and he was the only thing in the universe that could keep me from drifting away.
He pulled back just an inch, his forehead resting against mine. We were both gasping, our breaths mingling in the freezing night air.
"The Silver Moon is going to pay for what they did to you," he whispered, his eyes burning with a lethal promise. "But tonight... tonight you belong to the shadows."
He stood up, offering me his hand.
"Rest now. Tomorrow, we start the real hunt. Logan Blackwood thinks he's safe behind his walls. He doesn't realize the eclipse has already begun."
I took his hand, the silver fire in my veins finally settling into a steady, predatory hum.
Let them come, I thought, looking out over the dark forest. I'm not running anymore. I'm coming home. And I'm bringing the dark with me.