POV: Kael
The instant Aria collapsed, my world narrowed into the rhythm of her heartbeat—faint, erratic, but there. I carried her through the woods like a dying ember in my arms. Each breath she took felt like a countdown. Every step I took felt like a prayer.
I laid her down in our bed and stared at her for what felt like hours, not moving. Her skin glowed with the aftershock of power—burnt silver edged with red. I touched her cheek, barely, like my fingers could steady her soul.
But she didn’t stir.
When Roan arrived, I snapped out of it. I sent him for Mava, for answers, for anything that could fix the storm unraveling between us.
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Mava arrived cloaked in shadow. She didn’t gasp or flinch when she saw Aria; her composure only infuriated me more.
“She told me what she is,” I sa
