Aurenya’s POV
The word didn’t echo.
It stayed.
“Finally.”
Like the air had swallowed it and refused to release it back into silence.
For a heartbeat, nothing moved.
Not the presence.
Not Draven.
Not even the bond inside me.
Then the cabin changed.
Not visually at first.
Structurally.
The kind of change you don’t see—you feel.
The floor beneath me stopped feeling solid.
Not collapsing.
Not breaking.
Becoming uncertain.
Rhydan’s grip tightened instantly. “Aurenya—stay with me.”
I tried to answer.
But my throat wouldn’t cooperate.
Because the bond wasn’t just reacting anymore.
It was opening.
Another pulse hit—harder than anything before.
I gasped sharply, my body folding forward instinctively.
Rhydan caught me before I hit the ground. “Hey—hey, I’ve got you.”
But his
