Alchemised

by SenLinYu

For the first time, Kaine Ferron was fully human to her. She’d slipped through his walls and peeled away the defensive layers of malice and cruelty, and found that there he carried a broken heart. She could use that.

She met his eyes then. “I promised I was yours. You made me swear it. I didn’t make plans.” Anger darkened his face. “Surely there’s something you’re looking forward to now.” She reached out, her fingers brushing over his heart. “No. I’m—spent.”

“What do they want?” His voice was almost a whisper. She looked back. “What?” “Is it—actual crawling? Or was there something more constructive Ilva had in mind?” Her throat closed. “I—I’d have to ask.” “Find out. I’ll do it.”

She only heard Crowther utter one word before the door sealed shut: “Beg.”

It felt as if there were a canyon between them now. It was fine, though. He was alive. Every week she got to see him and know he was alive.

How nice it must be, to be a god.

Shiseo looked from her to the paper, an odd gleam of interest in his dark eyes. “I always knew you were very interesting.”

He was as deadly as she’d imagined.

“She’s dead,” he said. “You are not. My loyalty was to those least responsible for her suffering, but if the Eternal Flame has decided that you are an affordable casualty, I will not be noble or understanding. I can exact dual revenge. I will make them pay if they get you killed.”

“You are not replaceable,” he said, his hands trembling against her shoulders. “You are not required to make your death convenient. You are allowed to be important to people. The reason I’m here—the reason I’m doing any of this—is to keep you alive. To keep you safe. That was the deal.” He searched her face. “They didn’t tell you.” She shook her head, giving a broken sob and—before she let herself think—she kissed him.

The taste of him. Her eyes fluttered shut, trying to savour it all. This one moment. She could have this. She’d earned it.

“I don’t want to always be alone,” she said. It was easier to be honest in the dark. “I want to love someone without feeling like if they know, it’ll end up hurting them. People who love me always die. No matter what I do, it’s never enough to save them. I have to love everyone from a distance, and I’m so lonely.”

Like a star, he was glittering and ice-cold from afar, but when the space was bridged, the heat of him was endless.

When he kissed her, it felt like the beginning of something that could be eternal.

“I should have known—the moment I looked into your eyes, I should have known I would never win against you.”

Kaine Ferron was a dragon, like his family before him. Possessive to the point of self-annihilation. Isolated and deadly, and now he held her in his arms as if she were his. The temptation to give in, to let him have her, and to love him for it terrified her.

He was fire, and she was already consumed.

“You’re mine,” he said against her lips,

He pulled her close, crushing her to his chest. “You’re mine. You swore yourself to me. Now and after the war. I’m going to take care of you. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. You don’t have to be lonely. Because you’re mine.”

She was locked in the dangerous embrace of Kaine Ferron, and it felt like home.

Aren’t you a general or something? Don’t you have meetings, or crimes to commit?”

Their foreheads touched, and she closed her eyes. It was as though their souls were touching, too. She wanted to spend her life lost in that moment,

“Don’t worry. I’m always going to come back to you.”

Kaine had reminded her that she was human; that not every trait and ability and quality she possessed only mattered insomuch as it was useful to someone else. That she was allowed to breathe sometimes. Now, in his absence, she felt herself suffocating.

She was half indignant when she arrived, and then forgot, because before she was through the door, Kaine had her in his arms and was kissing her as if starved.

“Then we’ll go together. After the war.” She gripped his hand and pressed it against her chest, letting him feel her heartbeat. “When the war is over. We’ll run away somewhere no one knows us. We’ll disappear—forever.”

“I hate your hair like that,” he said, startling her. She looked up. “I could crop it instead.” He looked so offended that she laughed.

“Call me, and I will come.”

“You’re mine. You’re mine.” He’d repeat the words over and over. “Say it. Say you’re mine.”

“I promise, Kaine. I’m always going to be yours.”

internal,”

She created her own manacle

Then you won’t get hurt so much.”

She made him his armour !!!

She had thought she could do anything. That she was strong enough for it. That there would be no limit to what she was willing to do or endure. Apparently, Kaine had become her limit. She couldn’t imagine herself without him. She didn’t think she’d even exist anymore.

Someday, she promised herself, someday I am going to love him in a moment that isn’t stolen.

“You’re mine,” he said almost against her lips. “Mine. You swore it. Your Resistance sold you to me. I’m not going anywhere without you. And if anyone touches you, immortal or not, I will kill them.” He didn’t wait for a reply; he kissed her as though his lips were a brand on hers.

Luc eyed her warily but nodded. He seemed so familiar, and yet—there was something off about him.

He is undying

If Morrough interrogated her personally, he’d find Kaine in her thoughts and memories. No amount of evasion could hide him; he was the fabric of her thoughts. Her every action tied to him.

“Every time you asked, I promised I was yours. Always. There aren’t any exemptions or expiration dates on always.”

“I love you,” she said the words against his mouth, as if breathing them into him.

Because I am the last member of the Eternal Flame.”

The voice was distorted, but she knew it. She reached out dazedly as Kaine’s face flickered in her vision. “You came—” She reached for him. “I guess you always do.”

“You promised we’d run away together,” she said. “Remember?” He dipped his head. “Why is it that I have to keep all my promises, but you never seem to keep a single one of yours?” She shook her head, tilting up her face so their foreheads touched. “The first promise I made to you was that I’d be yours for as long as I live. I’m keeping that one.”

“We said always, didn’t we?” she asked, her voice strained. “Always. Well, if you don’t want that promise in full any longer, I’ll give it to you in increments.” She clutched his hand tighter. “Every day. I’ll choose you. That way you’ll know it’s still what I want.” She looked out towards the rising sea. “I’m sure there will be good days and bad days for us. Too much has happened to ever really put it behind us, but if you choose me, and I choose you, I think we’re strong enough to make it.”

“Love isn’t as pretty or pure as people like to think. There’s a darkness in it sometimes. Kaine and I go hand in hand. I made him who he is. I knew what that array meant when I saved him. If he’s a monster, then I’m his creator.”

When he looked down at her, the world around them faded away. Her stomach flipped. “So, what do we do now?” The corner of his mouth curved into a smile that had only ever been for her. “Anything. Whatever you want.”