LEAH
I wake with a jolt. My breath tears out of me in a ragged gasp, my hands clutching at the sheets as I look around.
“Where the heck is Lucian.”
My chest burns like a hot flame from absence I feel in chest. The bond, our bond, feels hollow, and very faint, almost like an echo fading in an empty cave.
“Lucian?” His name breaks on my lips, half a sob, half a plea. I reach inside myself, clawing at the thread that has always tied me to him, the mate bond. I can still feel him breathing through it, but it's very thin, and distant, like a wall is pressing between us.
Panic claws up my throat, as I try to make sense of everything that happened. Emily's revelation, the council going crazy, and Emily sending an evil magic force my way, and Lucian shielding me with himself.
“No… no, no
