Chapter Twenty one:Fault in the flame
bond does not return to normal. It returns sharper. After Nysera’s interference fails, the connection between Aurelia and Malachai becomes volatile — hypersensitive. Every emotion amplifies. Every doubt echoes. And every touch burns. The council gathers at dawn. Word of the ritual backlash has spread. The elders whisper about instability. Some claim Aurelia is destabilizing the pack. Others claim she is evolving it. Nysera stands among them, her burned palm hidden beneath silk wrappings. She looks injured. Wronged. Martyr-like. Aurelia notices. And through the bond, Malachai feels the flare of her jealousy — sharp and unexpected. It shocks him. Not because she is jealous. But because he feels it inside his own chest. The blood-binding now mirrors emotion in real time. Nyser
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