Kael knelt in the dirt, blood dripping from his mouth, his shoulders bowed beneath invisible weight. His eyes—once sly and mocking—were raw now, stripped bare of all but exhaustion and bitterness.
Adrian’s blade hovered inches from his throat, gleaming pale in the thin moonlight. His arm was steady, his jaw clenched tight enough to crack bone. He didn’t waver.
“Say the word,” Adrian growled, voice dark as thunder. “And I’ll cut him down.”
The night held its breath.
Nora stood like a shadow on the edge of the clearing, blade ready, eyes narrowed in calculation. She said nothing, but her silence pressed against me heavier than any words.
And Kael—Kael laughed. A ragged, broken laugh that scraped the silence raw. “Do it,” he rasped. “Be the hero who kills the villain. You’ve wanted to si
