The fire from the altar hadn’t left me—it coiled beneath my skin like a living thing. Every heartbeat echoed with the weight of the vow Alistair and I had taken. It wasn’t just magic anymore. It was war.
The bond tethering us pulsed between my ribs, hot and volatile. I could feel Alistair—his rage, his fear, his strength. But also something deeper. Something darker. We’d awakened something ancient, and now the world around us was shifting.
The forest thickened with shadows as we moved, each tree seeming to lean closer, listening. Alistair walked beside me, his body tense, his eyes scanning everything. Selene led the way, her pace brisk, blades at her hips glinting under the crimson twilight.
“We’re being watched,” she murmured, not looking back.
“I know,” I whispered. The magic in me b
