For a second, nobody spoke.
Mara’s words hung in the room like smoke.
If Redthorne pulled me toward him, he pulled Kael too.
I stared down at our joined hands. Silver light curled around my fingers and Kael’s like thread, warm where it touched me and bright where it touched him. The crescent mark on my palm no longer burned, but it pulsed steadily, almost like a second heartbeat.
“That sounds bad,” I said.
Rhys leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “For Redthorne or for us?”
“Both,” Mara answered.
Comforting.
Kael didn’t release my hand. “Explain.”
Mara stepped closer, her eyes fixed on the glow between us. “The blood mark tied Mira to Redthorne. But the mate bond tied Mira to you. When you answered the mark together, the bond strengthened. It created resistance.”
“Resistan
