Chapter Eight: The Shadow That Whispers
POV: Lira Velasquez
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The ground was slick with blood—his blood.
I dropped to my knees beside Kael’s limp body, my hands trembling as I pressed against the gash in his side. His breathing was shallow, ragged. Every exhale sounded like it might be his last.
“Kael,” I whispered, voice cracking. “Don’t you dare die on me.”
But his eyes didn’t open. His skin was cold.
The pendant at my throat pulsed with frantic light, its glow mirrored in the blood now coating my palms. The ritual circle had gone dark. The flames had vanished as soon as he fell. Whatever connection we forged with that oath—it was flickering. Dying.
Just like him.
“Help!” I screamed, my voice raw. “Somebody help!”
Mira was the first to reach us, followed by two warriors dragg
