The shadows of the storm had not yet faded when Vaelith stepped forward, lifting Anaxia into his arms with a gentleness that contradicted the vast, dangerous power within him. Kara stayed by his side, her eyes fixed on her mother’s pale face, her heart torn in too many directions to count. She wanted to scream at the heavens for the injustice of it all—how the woman who had suffered for her was now fading in her arms.
“Her body is failing,” Kara whispered, fingers trembling. “She’s losing strength faster than I can stabilize her.”
“She won’t make it back in this state,” Vaelith replied, his voice low but resolute. “We need to bring her into the Shadow Wing.
There, I can protect her until her body stabilizes—whatever remains of her.”
Kara nodded, though a part of her still wanted to cr
