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I refused to answer.

Christian stood in the center of my destroyed chamber, his patience fraying with each passing moment of my silence. Through the bond, I felt his frustration building. His need for control over a situation that had spiraled beyond anyone's ability to command.

"I will know what you saw." His words were soft. Lethal.

"You already know." I pressed myself against the wall, as far from him as the small room allowed. "You were there. It was your memory."

"I want to hear you say it."

"Why?" The question came out sharper than intended. "So you can confirm that I saw you slaughter my family without an ounce of humanity? Without remorse? Without even the decency of hatred to justify it?"

His jaw tightened. "I did what was necessary."

"Necessary." I laughed. The sound was bitter. Broken. "You felt nothing. That is what I experienced. Your complete and utter indifference as you gave the order to kill everyone I loved."

He moved closer. I backed away, but there was nowhere left to go. The wall was solid behind me.

"Stop running," he said.

"Stop advancing."

He ignored me. Crossed the remaining distance in two strides. His presence filled the space, overwhelming and inescapable.

"I was a soldier following orders," he said. "That is what you saw. A weapon being wielded by my father. If you want someone to hate, hate him."

"I have enough hatred for both of you."

Something flickered through the bond. Not quite pain. But close. He felt my words like a blade.

Good.

His hand shot out, gripping my wrist. "You will learn to control yourself. Every moment you resist only makes it worse."

The touch detonated between us.

Pain lanced up my arm. White hot agony that made me gasp. But beneath the pain, pleasure sparked like lightning. The two sensations tangled together, impossible to separate.

Energy built at the point of contact. Golden light flared, growing brighter. Hotter. More dangerous.

"Let go," I gasped.

"No." His grip tightened. "You need to understand what we are dealing with. The bond will not tolerate distance. It will not tolerate resistance. Every time you pull away, it punishes us."

The light grew blinding. Power surged through the connection, a violent feedback loop that fed on itself. My magic rose in response. His shadow met my lightning.

The explosion threw us both across the room.

I hit the far wall hard enough to drive the air from my lungs. Slid down to the floor, gasping. Pain radiated through my shoulder, my hip. But worse than the physical harm was the echo of his touch burning through my veins like poison.

Across the room, Christian pushed himself upright. His shirt was torn where energy had scorched through the fabric. A burn mark crossed his forearm, angry and red.

Through the bond, I felt his hunger. The pain had not diminished his desire. If anything, it had intensified it.

My body answered with traitorous heat.

"You see?" He straightened slowly, his movements controlled despite the chaos of power still crackling in the air around us. "We cannot touch without consequence. But we cannot stay apart. The bond is a trap designed to torture us both."

"Then we stay as far apart as possible." I struggled to my feet, using the wall for support. "We minimize contact. We build walls in our minds. We survive this without..."

"Without what?" He stalked toward me again. "Without acknowledging what we both feel through this connection?"

"I feel nothing but hatred."

"Liar." He stopped just outside touching distance. Close enough that I could feel his heat. Far enough that the bond ached at the separation. "I feel what you feel, Princess. Your hatred is real. But so is everything else."

My pulse hammered in my throat. "You are wrong."

"Am I?" His eyes held mine. Through the bond, his awareness wrapped around my consciousness like a fist. "Then why is your heart racing? Why is heat pooling between your thighs? Why does your body lean toward me even as your mind screams to run?"

"Stop." The word came out breathless.

"I cannot." His voice dropped lower. Darker. "And neither can you. We are shackled together. Your death would be mine. My death would certainly be yours. There is no escape. No freedom. Only this."

He gestured at the space between us. At the golden threads of light that flickered in the air, connecting us despite the distance.

"This is not a bond," I whispered. "This is a prison."

"Yes." Something almost like sympathy crossed his expression. But it was gone too quickly to be certain. "And we are both serving a life sentence."

He moved to the door. Paused with his hand on the frame. When he spoke again, his voice was cold. Detached. The soldier returned.

"Sleep, Princess. Tomorrow, we present ourselves to the court. My father will want to display his new... acquisition."

"I am not yours."

He looked back at me. His expression was unreadable. But through the bond, I felt his response before he spoke it aloud.

"You are not special, Princess. You are a liability. If there were any way to sever this bond without killing us both, you would already be dead." He opened the door. "Pray I never find a way."

The door closed behind him.

I was alone. But through the bond, I felt him walking away. Felt his presence like a weight in my chest, a chain wrapped around my heart.

I slid down the wall, my legs finally giving out completely. My shoulder throbbed. My wrist ached where he had gripped it. But worse than any physical pain was the knowledge burning through my mind.

He was right.

The bond would not let us stay apart. Would not tolerate resistance. Every attempt to pull away only made the connection stronger.

And my body had betrayed me completely.

Even now, alone in my ruined chambers, I could feel the phantom echo of his touch. The heat. The terrible, traitorous pleasure mixed with pain.

I hated him.

And I craved more.