Elera’s POV
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not because I didn’t try.
But because every time I closed my eyes, I could still hear Kael’s voice in my head.
“You’re bonded.”
The word felt wrong inside my mind, like it didn’t belong there, like it was forced into a language I didn’t speak.
Bonded.
I sat up in bed again, pressing my palms against my face.
“This is insane,” I whispered into the dark. “This is actually insane.”
And yet…
My body still remembered the way his hand felt around my wrist.
Warm.
Certain.
Like it knew exactly what it was doing.
Like I knew it too.
I shook my head quickly. “No. No, no, no.”
I refused to think about it anymore.
---
Morning came too fast.
Mina was waiting for me outside my apartment building, holding two coffees like she had made it her perso
