Kael woke up with blood on his hands.
He flung himself up, sheets tangled around his legs, his breath tearing from his lungs. Moonlight streamed through the windows of his chamber, silver on the polished floor, but it did nothing to dispel the horror that clung to his skin.
Blood.
Blood. So much blood.
He looked down.
His hands were untainted.
Spotlessly clean.
But he could still feel its heat coming through his fingers. “Not...
The word slipped out in a breath.
His heart pounded against his ribs.
The dream.
It had come back.
Except this time...
It didn’t feel dream-like.
Rain clattered on a wooden platform.
A woman knelt in front of him.
Chains bit into her wrists until blood ran over broken wood.
Her black hair stuck to her face.
She tried to lift her head
To look a
