The golden sparks of the broken chains still shimmered in the air, their fading glow settling against Ariana’s trembling skin like falling embers. She lay cradled in Kael’s arms, her body shaking from the searing weight of his authority. Her breath hitched, ragged and uneven, while his chest rose and fell against her back like the tide—furious, desperate, unrelenting.
For a long, taut moment, silence stretched between them. The room smelled of burned magic, of wolf and smoke and something dangerously close to blood. Her tears stained his shirt, and her heart hammered so loud she swore he could feel every frantic beat.
Then his voice broke through the silence, low and guttural.
“You drive me mad, Ariana.”
His hand, still shaking from the remnants of rage, slid up her spine and pressed a
