Kieran didn't hesitate. The moment his body surged with power, the shadows recoiled as if sensing a predator in their midst. Fire licked at his fingertips, not like Zyra's bright golden flames but something darker—a fire forged from the void itself.
The Abyss screamed.
The whispers that had tried to drown him out turned to shrieks of rage as his very existence defied their will. They tried to close in, to drag him back down into the depths.
But Kieran wasn't theirs to claim.
With a single pulse of energy, he shattered the shadows around him, forcing the Abyss to release him.
And then he ran.
Every step propelled him forward through the shifting black landscape. The Abyss was a place of nightmares, but he wasn't afraid. His body ached from the energy he'd burned through, but there was only one thing on his mind.
Zyra.
He could feel her—hurting. The bond between them pulsed like a beacon in his chest, guiding him through the darkness.
Hold on, flame. I'm coming.
---
The Abyss' Trap
Zyra hit the ground hard, her breath knocked from her lungs as the shadows slammed into her. They curled around her limbs, tightening, dragging her downward.
She bit back a cry, her fire flaring to life around her. But no matter how much she burned, the Abyss wouldn't let go.
"You hesitate, little flame."
The voice slithered into her ears, deep and ancient.
"And that hesitation will kill you."
She snarled. "You don't know me."
The shadows laughed.
"But I do."
Dark tendrils coiled around her wrists, her throat, forcing her to see.
And suddenly—
She was elsewhere.
A vision unfolded before her, pulling her deep into its grasp.
She saw herself standing in the ruins of a battlefield, the air thick with the stench of smoke and blood. Bodies lay strewn across the ground—people she knew. Warriors. Friends.
And at the center of it all, on his knees, burned and broken—
Kieran.
His golden eyes stared up at her, full of something raw and unreadable. His lips moved, forming her name, but no sound came out.
And her own hands—were covered in fire.
She had done this.
She had burned him.
Zyra's breath hitched, her chest tightening with an emotion she didn't dare name.
The vision shifted again.
Now she saw Kieran standing over her body.
Her flames had been extinguished. Her once-unstoppable fire reduced to nothing but embers.
And he—
He looked broken.
Not victorious. Not relieved.
Lost.
The shadows whispered.
"One of you will destroy the other. It is written in the fabric of fate."
"He will burn for you, and you will be his ruin."
"Or he will be yours."
The weight of the words crashed down on her, seeping into the deepest parts of her soul.
She had always known their connection was dangerous. That it was something neither of them should have.
But the truth was worse than she had imagined.
Fated mates.
Bound together by destiny.
One would fall for the other.
And one would die because of it.
The shadows held her there, waiting for her to break. Waiting for her to accept it.
But deep within her, something snapped.
---
Zyra's Defiance
"No."
The word was quiet, at first.
Then—
"No."
Stronger this time.
She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as her flames ignited once more.
The vision tried to hold her, to keep her trapped in the horror of what could be. But Zyra refused.
She had spent her whole life fighting against what others claimed was her fate.
She would not let this be the end.
"You don't decide what happens to us," she growled, her voice raw with fury. "We do."
She tore herself free.
The Abyss howled.
The shadows around her exploded as her flames roared to life, brighter and hotter than ever before. The power surged through her, crackling like a living storm.
And just as the darkness tried to consume her again—
A hand grabbed her wrist.
Warm. Familiar. Real.
She gasped, her head snapping up.
Kieran.
He was here.
His golden eyes burned, his grip on her unyielding. "Took you long enough," he said, breathless.
Zyra let out a shaky laugh. "You try fighting fate and see how long it takes you."
The Abyss shuddered around them, enraged by their defiance. The shadows lunged, the entire void shifting, collapsing inward.
They had seconds before it swallowed them whole.
Kieran's grip tightened. "Hold on to me."
Zyra didn't hesitate. She grabbed onto him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
And together—
They burned through the Abyss.
---
The Escape
The world twisted.
For a moment, there was nothing but fire and darkness clashing in a violent storm. The Abyss roared in defiance, trying to keep them.
But they were stronger.
They fell—
Fell—
And then—
They crashed back into reality.
Zyra landed hard against solid ground, Kieran's weight half on top of her. The air around them was different. Not cold. Not suffocating.
They were out.
Zyra gasped, her lungs burning as she sucked in fresh air. She turned her head to look at Kieran, his face inches from hers.
His golden eyes flickered.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then—
Kieran exhaled a shaky laugh, his forehead dropping against hers.
"I think we just pissed off the Abyss."
Zyra grinned, breathless. "Good."
She felt his pulse, strong and steady beneath her fingertips. Alive.
She didn't let go.
And neither did he.
---