The night was still, unnaturally so. The stronghold lay wrapped in silence, the kind of silence that prickled Ariana’s skin and made her heartbeat sound too loud in her ears. Kael slept beside her, his arm heavy across her waist, his breath hot against her neck. His hold was suffocating and comforting all at once—a paradox that defined their entire bond.
She stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, the words from the prophecy bled into her thoughts, mingling with Kael’s desperate plea: Teach me how to love you without destroying us.
But even in that vulnerability, she had seen the storm in him. His love was not calm seas—it was a tempest that threatened to drown them both.
Her throat ached as she slipped carefully from the bed, his hand twitching when she
