Kael's Claim: The Ashgrave Bonds.

His father says choose the crown or choose her. Kael has never refused an order before.The Fire House heir has spent his whole life being exactly what his father demanded, and the Sworn Bond was supposed to be one more thing he could dominate on command. Lord Ashborn doesn't want a son who shares power with three rival Houses. He wants a bond Kael controls outright, or no bond at all, and he's willing to force the issue in front of the entire academy to get it.Isla didn't ask Kael to choose her over his own House. But when the dueling trial meant to prove Fire House's supremacy becomes the moment Kael and Isla have to stand as equals or lose everything, publicly, in front of every watching House, he finds out exactly how much of his confidence was always just armor. What happens when the boy who was never allowed to want anything finally does?One public refusal. One father's fury. One bond-mark that answers a question Kael never let himself ask.