The temple ruins stood eerily silent in the aftermath of battle. The scent of blood and magic lingered in the air, thick and suffocating, but the oppressive weight that had hung over us moments before had lifted. Elias Thorn lay motionless on the cold stone floor, his once formidable presence now reduced to a lifeless shell.
I should have felt relieved.
I should have felt victorious.
But I didn’t.
Instead, a deep unease coiled inside me, a whisper of something ancient and unseen pressing against the edges of my mind. The bond—once a familiar tether between Kieran and me—had shifted, pulsing with an unfamiliar energy. It was no longer just a thread connecting two souls.
It was something more.
Something alive.
Callum stood a few feet away, his breathing heavy, his body still shaking f
