NORA POV
The river hadn’t returned Darius.
We searched until dawn, until my skin turned blue from the water’s chill and Reya forced me out of the current.
“He’s gone, Nora.”
“No,” I snapped. “He’s not dead. I’d feel it.”
But the bond between us—faint and trembling—felt like smoke through my fingers.
Not gone.
Just… buried.
I stood there, dripping, fists clenched, while the world around me tried to splinter.
And then Kalen screamed.
KALEN POV
The world shook.
Fire raced under my skin.
Veya screamed my name, trying to get close, but something was burning around me—my own power? A shield?
I didn’t know what was happening.
I just knew something had happened to them.
To her.
To him.
I could feel it.
“Mom!” I shouted.
My power exploded again—light tearing through the dome.
