The council chamber still smelled of blood. Even after the servants scrubbed the stones until their hands blistered, the iron tang clung to the air, soaked into the cracks, woven into the memory of the walls. Ariana couldn’t walk through the hall without hearing the sound of Kael’s claws tearing flesh, without seeing Tharos’s eyes glaze in death.
Every night since, she had dreamed of blood on her hands. Every morning she woke with Kael wrapped around her, his body heavy, his scent grounding, his golden eyes watching her like she was the only anchor left keeping him from plunging fully into darkness.
But tonight, the darkness came back.
The council meeting had been summoned again, urgency thick in the air. Rogues pressed harder on the borders, whispers of rebellion stirred within, and wo
