THE BONDS THAT BREAK AND THE TRUTH THAT BLEEDS
The forest was still burning when Nara opened her eyes.
The sky above her was a choking red—ash drifting like dying snowflakes. Her ears rang, her heartbeat thundered, and every bone in her body felt like it had been carved open and rearranged.
But she was alive.
Barely.
Her throat worked as she tried to speak.
“Kael…?”
No answer.
She pushed herself off the ground, trembling, searching through the heavy smoke. The last thing she remembered was the blast—the masked figure’s power slamming into the ground, ripping the earth open under her feet. Kael had thrown himself over her, shielding her with his body.
And now—he was gone.
“Kael?” she whispered again, panic rising like a scream trapped inside her chest.
The forest responded only w
