Elara did not sleep.
The threads would not allow it.
They whispered beneath her skin, a constant, restless pull tugging at her awareness. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel them stretching outward, brushing against distant presences like fingertips testing the surface of water. Some recoiled when they sensed her attention. Others pressed closer, curious, insistent.
One pulsed sharper than the rest.
Dangerous.
Hungry.
Elara sat up slowly, breath steady, heart racing. The room was dim, lit only by the pale glow of dawn creeping through the curtains. Kael stood near the door, already alert, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
“You feel it,” he said.
She nodded. “One of them is coming closer. Not the calm one. Not the playful one.” Her jaw tightened. “The dark thread.”
K
