I gasped.
The cavern returned.
Kael was holding me.
The Keeper stood across the spring.
His scarred son was gone.
I blinked rapidly.
"What happened?"
Kael stared at me.
Not frightened.
Astonished.
"Lara..."
"What?"
Clarissa laughed inside me.
"Look."
I looked down.
My hands glowed.
Not around them.
Through them.
White light beneath my skin.
Gold along my fingertips.
My hair moved though there was no wind.
The pendant floated above my chest.
Kael's eyes had shifted gold.
Ronan was close.
Very close.
And for the first time—
I could feel him.
Not his thoughts.
Not words.
His presence.
Strength.
Protectiveness.
Fear.
Loyalty.
All tangled together.
I looked at Kael.
"You were afraid."
His expression changed.
"What?"
"When I disappeared."
"Of course I was.
