The glowing blue seal over Kyle's chest throbbed with a cold, binding magic, settling into his skin like liquid ice. Seraphina ran the pad of her thumb across his lower lip, her violet eyes swimming with possessive warmth as she drank in her victory.
"You are mine now, Kyle Conner," she whispered, her voice a sultry, melodic chime that reverberated off the pearl walls. "A king bound to his queen."
She never got the chance to pull him to his feet.
A sound tore through the vast cavern—not a scream, not a cry, but a guttural, terrifying roar of absolute, feral rage. It was a sound that didn't belong to a civilized woman, nor even to a noble pureblood princess. It was the primordial howl of an apex monster whose soul had been ripped open.
The air temperature inside the pearl hall plunged instantly.
