Adrian's POV
City lights blurred in the distance as I drove, a heavy silence between us. The weight of everything that had happened hung over me—the power surging through me, the Oracle's binding, the dangers ahead, and the unspoken threat Erebus posed. But there was something else that kept clawing at the edges of my mind.
I broke the silence first, the need to understand gnawing at me. "So, what exactly did that binding do?" My voice was firm, but I couldn't hide the unease creeping into my words.
Valeria glanced at me from the corner of her eye, a flicker of hesitation before she spoke. "The Oracle... she used a deep, ancient magic. You now carry a piece of my essence, Adrian. A fraction of my power. It's tied to you." Her gaze shifted, the tension in the air thickening with every word. "You're not just connected to me now. You are connected to me."
I felt it, too—the thrum of something inside me, something that wasn't just mine. But there was more, I could tell. Something unsaid.
"And what does that mean exactly?" I asked, my voice taut.
Her eyes turned hard. "It means your life is now linked to mine. My power flows through you now, but it's volatile. Unpredictable. If you can't control it, it will consume you."
I could feel it even now, the flare of it deep within me, something that didn't feel quite right. But I didn't care about that. Not now. "What else? What are we supposed to do about it?"
She turned to face me fully, her expression grim. "You need to understand, Adrian. The bond is not just about power. It's also about claiming. The binding means something more than just a connection." Her voice dropped, as if she were revealing something intimate. "You and I must consummate the bond within three days, or someone else can mark me."
I turned to look at her, trying to make sense of her words. "Mark you?" The thought of anyone else claiming her made a surge of anger rise in my chest.
Valeria's gaze was unwavering, a subtle warning in her eyes. "Yes. Talon will try to mark me. It's part of the nature of Sirens—we can have multiple mates. But if you don't claim me, if WE don't consummate the bond, then someone like him can take me as his partner. And once marked, I'm bound to him to."
The world seemed to stop for a moment. My heart was pounding in my chest, and everything else seemed to fade into nothing. Talon. The idea of him being with her—the very thought had my blood boiling.
"No," I growled under my breath, gripping the wheel tighter. "I'm not sharing you. I won't let anyone touch you, let alone mark you. Not even him."
The car was too damn quiet. The sound of the engine hummed in the background, but all I could hear was the thundering pulse of my own heartbeat. The tension between Valeria and me felt like it could tear the world apart. I was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that my fingers were starting to ache, but I didn't dare release it. Not yet. Not with her sitting next to me, looking too calm for my sanity, when everything was unraveling around us.
She broke the silence with a soft sigh, her voice carrying the weight of something I wasn't ready to hear. I braced myself, already knowing it was going to be something that would drive me to the edge. She always had that effect on me.
"The consummation," she began, her voice smooth, almost too calm. "It must happen in the Siren's colony."
I blinked, not understanding at first. Siren's colony? My mind struggled to catch up. "The Siren's colony?" I repeated, my voice thick with confusion. "What do you mean? Why there?"
She turned her head toward me, meeting my gaze, her expression unreadable but her eyes—those eyes—flashing something that made my blood run hot. "Because that's where the final stage of the binding will happen, Adrian. That's where we'll become... truly bound."
Something twisted in my gut, and I felt the anger stirring. Final stage? Bound? I knew the binding wasn't just a ritual. It was something deeper. Something that tied us together, something I couldn't shake off no matter how hard I tried. I was already in too deep.
"You mean... you and I?" I managed, my voice hushed, my breath quickening. "We... consummate there?" I let the word hang in the air, thick with the weight of what it meant. I could feel the heat rising in my body, could feel the hunger and the need that had always simmered just under the surface when it came to her.
Valeria nodded, her lips curving into the faintest of smiles, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. She wasn't the one about to lose control.
"Yes. It's the only way, Adrian," she said softly. "Once we do, the bond will be complete. I'll be yours. And you'll be mine."
I could feel it now, the fire inside me burning brighter. I'd wanted her since the day we met—needed her. Every fiber of my being screamed for her, but now there was something else. Something primal. The knowledge that the bond between us would be solidified, that she would truly be mine in every sense, made my blood boil. The thought of being connected to her, of having her tied to me, was enough to make my head spin.
But that wasn't all. No, there was more. I could see it in the way she hesitated, the way her gaze dropped for just a second. Something wasn't right. There was more to this. And I wasn't going to let her keep it from me.
"You're not telling me everything," I said, my voice rough with barely contained rage. "What else?"
She hesitated, and I saw the hesitation in her eyes—the briefest flicker of something I didn't like. My heart pounded harder in my chest. "Talon," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. "Talon will be there. In the colony."
At the mention of his name, my body went cold. Talon. The bastard who had his eyes on Valeria from the start. The one who thought he could just waltz into her life and claim her. I could feel the heat in my veins turning to ice, but underneath it all, a deep, seething rage began to burn brighter.
"Talon?" I hissed, my grip tightening on the wheel, my knuckles turning white. "That fucking bastard will be there? And you expect me to just let him be around while we—while I—claim you? No. I won't let him near you."
Her gaze was unwavering as she met my eyes, and I saw the calm resolve in her expression. She wasn't afraid of me. Not even now.
"Adrian, you need to understand. It's not about us alone," she said, her voice soft but firm. "The magic requires it. He can't touch me unless I—unless we complete the final stage. But if we don't do it there, if we don't do it someone else could. He could try to mark me, Adrian."
My mind went blank for a second. Mark me. The words echoed in my head, and my body went rigid. Mark me. The possessiveness inside me flared to life, a burning need to protect what was mine.
"No," I growled, the words slipping out before I could stop them. "He won't. I won't let him."
I slammed my fist against the dashboard, the metal denting under the force of my strike. Valeria flinched, but I didn't care. All I could think about was Talon. His name was like acid in my mouth, and the thought of him laying a single finger on her, claiming her, marked me in a way I couldn't describe. It made my blood boil.
Valeria watched me with a calculating gaze, but I could see the tension in her, the way her breath quickened just slightly. She could feel it too—the intensity between us, the pull of the bond that was only growing stronger. And I knew she understood what I was feeling, the jealousy and obsession that had taken root deep within me.
She leaned in closer, her lips brushing against my ear as she whispered, "You'll have to fight for me, Adrian. Talon won't let you claim me easily. He'll do whatever he can to stop it."
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut, and I let out a low growl. "I don't care," I spat, my body vibrating with anger. "He won't stop me. No one will stop me from claiming you, Valeria. No one."
She was mine. I'd wanted her from the moment I met her, and nothing, not even Talon or the damn Siren's colony, was going to change that.
I quickly stopped the car and grabbed her face in my hands, my lips crashing down on hers with a fierceness that left us both gasping. The power surging between us, the connection growing stronger, was intoxicating. My kiss was hungry, desperate, as though I could drink her in and make her mine forever.
When I pulled back, my chest was heaving, my breath ragged. Her lips were swollen from the kiss, and I could see the same fire in her eyes that mirrored my own. She was as consumed by this as I was.
"You're mine, Valeria," I rasped, my voice hoarse, thick with desire. "No one else gets to touch you. No one."
She didn't answer, but the look in her eyes said everything. She knew. She knew I'd fight for her. I'd burn the world down if I had to.
And nothing was going to stand in my way.