The sun crept slowly over the horizon, casting its golden light across the stone walls of Varyn Castle. But Avelyn and Kaelen had not slept. Their bond had been forged in fire and magic, but its echo still trembled in the air around them. The sheets tangled around their bodies bore silent witness to a night that changed everything.
Avelyn stirred first.
Her head rested on Kaelen's chest, his heartbeat steady beneath her cheek. She listened to the rhythm, letting it ground her. Her fingertips skimmed the mark now etched into her collarbone—the crescent moon that shimmered faintly even in daylight. A mark of belonging. Of power. Of choice.
Kaelen shifted beneath her, his arm tightening around her waist. "You're awake," he murmured, his voice rough from the night.
She smiled against his s
