( Kael's POV )
The first pale threads of dawn unraveled across the cracks in the cabin walls, bleeding gray light into the gloom. The fire had burned low, embers glowing like tired eyes, and the air held the metallic tang of steel sharpened too long into the night. My muscles ached, my mind frayed, but sleep had not touched me. Not really. How could it, when every heartbeat carried the weight of prophecy, every breath the fear of what hunted us?
Kael stood near the door, his back to me, his silhouette framed by the dim light. His body was still, but the tension in his shoulders screamed of the storm inside him. Darius had not moved from his post either. He remained a statue by the window, blade across his knees, his eyes locked on the forest beyond. Both men radiated the same restless e
