The summons came at dawn.
Not by phone.
Not by message.
By pull.
Kael felt it snap tight along his spine, ancient and absolute. A command carried through territory and bone, older than any hierarchy he operated in by daylight.
Come.
He stilled instantly.
Elara noticed the change before he spoke. His posture shifted—not tense, not alarmed—but alert in a way that made the room feel smaller.
“They’re calling you,” she said.
“Yes,” Kael replied.
Her throat tightened. “Because of me.”
“Because of the bond,” he corrected calmly. “You are not a problem. You are a catalyst.”
He didn’t soften the truth. He never did.
Kael turned fully toward her then, eyes steady, voice measured.
“You need to understand the rules before I answer that summons,” he said. “Not to frighten you. To give yo
