The room was too quiet, too heavy, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath. Ariana lay still in Kael’s arms, her head pillowed on his chest, the echo of visions still pounding behind her eyes. His heartbeat thudded against her cheek—steady, grounding, yet laced with tension.
She thought she’d finally catch a moment of silence, but the visions weren’t done with her.
Her lashes fluttered shut, exhaustion dragging at her bones, but the bond and the silver heat in her veins refused peace. Darkness swirled—and then the battlefield bloomed again.
The same one she’d seen before.
Her father’s broad frame. His voice shouting. His blood staining the earth. Kael’s golden eyes gleaming with merciless fury. His blade arcing down, ending her father’s life.
But this time—this time there
