The next memory of Kael was probably one of the worst ones. Because it was the moment of my death…
***
I stood half-hidden among the tent’s shadows, my power leashed tight inside my bones, watching the moment fracture beyond repair.
I had given Varion the opening.
I had given him time.
I had given him her.
And he hadn’t run!
Instead, I watched as the King dragged them both back into the main tent, turning their pain into theater. I watched as he unleashed his magic, old and cruel and precise. The pressure hit Varion like a hammer, forcing him down like the dog he was. But Veyra broke free and threw herself to Varion’s side. And then— She offered herself.
I felt it like a blade through my chest.
“Take me instead.”
I didn’t breathe.
I couldn’t.
She was kneeling in the dirt,
