( Kael's POV )
The flicker of the lamp painted Kael’s face in shifting gold, his eyes glowing with an intensity that mirrored the bond pulsing between us. The cabin’s cedar scent wrapped around me, grounding me in this fleeting moment of safety, but the air was thick with unspoken truths. My hand lingered on my belly, the child’s gentle stir a quiet anchor amidst the storm of emotions swirling inside me. Kael’s palm rested there too, warm and steady, his touch a silent vow that tethered us even as my heart wrestled with the weight of it. The rogues were gone for now, their retreat a temporary reprieve, but the danger they represented loomed larger than ever. We couldn’t hide forever, and the bond’s warning, Soon. Sooner than you think, echoed in my bones.
I pulled my hand away, breaking
