Alina awoke with a start, her heart hammering, a cold sweat covering her skin. The memory of Riven’s heat lingered, a ghost of fire along her pulse, and Kael’s shadowed presence pressed insistently into her mind. Even in the safety of her chamber, the Veil whispered, curling around her consciousness like smoke, sharp and insistent.
Alina… you are mine.
The words were not spoken aloud, yet she could feel them, pulsing through her veins with an almost tangible hunger. Her mark flared beneath her wrist, and she groaned, curling into herself as the whispers grew louder, beckoning, tempting.
Kael was at her door before she even had time to think. His shadow stretched behind him, pooling across the floor like liquid night. When he entered, he didn’t speak immediately; instead, he moved toward
