The thunder of paws and the howls of wolves faded into laughter and breathless chatter as most started to shift back into their human form, magic and fur dissolving into skin and bone like mist at dawn. The stars overhead loosened their spiral, drifting back into lazy, glowing clusters as if satisfied with what they had witnessed.
I barely noticed.
Because Kael was also shifting back.
Starlight wrapped around him once more, folding wings into shadows, power settling quietly beneath flesh. When it cleared, he stood there—barefoot on the stone, black hair tousled, skin faintly glowing as if he’d stolen a piece of the sky and forgotten to give it back.
And gods help me—I forgot how to breathe at the sight of him.
It was ridiculous. I knew that. He’d just been something out of a legend, s
