KAEL’S POV
The mate bond glowed like a dying ember in my chest, faint and weak but not extinguishing despite everything. I clutched my palm against the hollow sensation in my sternum, feeling the tug that Lena was still out there somewhere, still connected to us in her terror and suffering.
“Do you feel that?” Riven asked beside me, his blue eyes echoing the same hope and desperation I felt burning in my own chest.
“East,” I confirmed, and turned to the general direction the bond was urging us. “She’s east of us. Maybe two days’ ride if we push.”
We were at the border of Lucien’s territory, our horses waiting and provisions packed. We didn’t have permission to leave. We didn’t tell anyone we were going. The Lycan was still recovering from the poison, and the box his messenger had br
