Alina couldn’t sleep. Not after the Veil had called her name, not after the council’s warnings, and certainly not after the way Kael’s shadowed gaze had held her, pressing into her chest with unspoken intensity.
She wandered the halls of the Shadow Court, the torches flickering as if they, too, shivered at the weight of her presence. Every corner seemed to lean toward her, shadows pooling like water. The mark on her wrist throbbed faintly, a reminder that the Veil’s hunger had not passed.
“Alina,” Kael’s voice broke the silence before she could hide. He emerged from the corridor, dark hair catching firelight, violet eyes glinting like blades. “Walking the halls at this hour is dangerous.”
“I can handle myself,” she said, though her voice betrayed a flicker of uncertainty. She had handle
