Chapter 10
Dawn came gray and cold.
We left the rock overhang before the sun fully cleared the trees. Kael set a hard pace, moving us deeper into the neutral land where the trees grew thicker and the ground turned uneven. Lila stayed close to me. None of us spoke much. The message from the night before sat heavy between us. A formal kill order. Rogue status. No safe roads left.
By mid-morning, my legs ached, and my stomach had gone tight with hunger. The bond between Kael and me remained loud and restless. Every time our arms brushed while climbing over fallen logs or pushing through undergrowth, heat sparked under my skin. The unfinished moments from the shelter and the rock overhang had only made the pull stronger.
Kael stopped in a narrow stream and crouched to drink. I knelt beside
