The messenger’s words still rang in her ears—Kael awaits her.
Riven’s body was taut beside her, his jaw clenched in fury he barely contained. He hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoken, even after the cloaked figure slipped back into the trees like a shadow swallowed by the dark. The Veil pulsed faintly around them, fading with every breath, leaving only the thrum of her blood in its absence.
Alina gathered herself on unsteady legs. Her skin still hummed with Riven’s touch, the echo of release too fresh, too raw. But the moment was gone, shattered.
And then Kael appeared.
He stepped from the treeline with the quiet authority of someone who had always belonged to the shadows. His eyes locked instantly on her—on the silver still clinging to her skin, on the flush of her face. They narrowed, unreadab
