Chapter 13
Night settled over the sanctuary with a quiet that felt almost heavy. Sera had left us after checking the borders and telling us the land would hold through the night. Lila had claimed a separate small chamber deeper in the stone structure, too exhausted to stay awake. That left Kael and me alone in the main room with only the low light of a small fire and the constant pull of the bond.
I sat on the edge of the old stone ledge that served as a bed. My body still hummed from the test earlier. The mark on my palm had faded but the power it left behind remained, restless and warm. Kael stood near the entrance for a long time before he finally came closer.
“You have been quiet since the clearing,” he said.
“I keep seeing their faces. The ones who carried this blood before me.” I
