Page 16 of Severed Heir

Rok stepped in close, lips curling with venom. “It’s only a matter of time before she’s crawling into my bed anyway. The new recruits always love playing favorites with the lead guards.”

Archer lunged.

His fist shot toward Rok’s jaw, fast and brutal. But I didn’t think, I reacted. A flame burst from my palm, a burning rope coiling around Archer’s wrist mid-strike, yanking him back. Just like I had done to Naraic the day we left for Demetria.

The fire between us burned quiet and furious. Archer held my gaze, and in it, I saw the rage he kept buried.

He snapped against it, muscles tense, shadows flickering beneath his skin.“Severyn,”he growled, maybe out loud, maybe in my mind.

Either way, I didn’t let go. The rope sizzled around his wrist, embers biting into the stone.

“I need to fight this myself,”I said through the bond.“You won’t always be here to protect me.”

Rok laughed, shoulders rolling like he was readying for a fight. “Gods, you Serpents are always so dramatic.” He cast Archer a crooked grin. “Don’t worry, Lynch. You’ll get your failed bargain back when I’m done with her. But Severyn belongs to me now.”

My heart seized.

“I claim her,” Rok said louder. “I claim her as my heir. Look at her now.”

He was mocking Archer from the Serpent Bid.

I stepped out of the line. “Archer has nothing to do with me,” I said. “He was only trying to help.”

Rok licked his lips like he’d won something. “Bladecasting starts in half an hour,” he said. “Don’t be late.”

Then he vanished into the crowd, and I was left breathing through the sting of blistered skin, reminding myself that I had no choice. That Archer couldn’t always step in. And I didn’t want to face him right now—let alone explain why I’d bound him back with flame.

Around me, the crowd thinned. The first stage of initiation was over. Or so I thought. I turned, scanning for Myla, when a hand landed gently on my shoulder.

“Sev.”

“Cully,” I breathed.

I spun and collapsed into him without any hesitation. My arms wrapped tight around his middle, pulling me into the familiar scent of parchment and glue. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

He held me just as tightly. “Fieldwork,” he murmured. “I finally escaped the prisons.”

I looked up, and golden eyes met mine. Klaus’s eyes. The sight shattered something deep inside of me. Hisgolden blond hair had grown longer, one side was tucked neatly behind his ear. He wore a red sweater vest, a single V stitched over the heart.

For a moment, I saw every version of myself at once—the failed Winter heir, the girl who clung to fairy tales, the sister who curled beside him as he read by candlelight. I wasn’t sure if she still existed.

“Why Malvoria?” I asked quietly.

He clutched his notebook against his chest. “My professor thinks something’s building here. With the final Serpent trial coming… someone’s going to take the throne, and I need the story.”

He looked different. No glasses. Broader shoulders. Like someone had spilled a growth elixir down his spine.

“I missed you,” I whispered. “You’ve filled out.”

But I didn’t know where to start—what to tell him, or how much. Blanche blood always came at a cost, and Cully was here chasing a story. I needed to be sure he wouldn’t trade me for a headline.

And Gods, did I have a headline.

Myla stepped beside us, offering a tired smile. “Sorry about Rok,” she said. “He’s a menace on a good day.”

“I wouldn’t call him a menace,” I said. “More like... anger issues.”

I gestured at Cully. “Have you met Myla? She was my friend at the Academy.” Though now, I wasn’t sure if we still were. Not since she got close to Bridger and things got weird between us.

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