Silence pressed down on the small room.
Kael did not let go of her wrist and his eyes stayed fixed on her neck, where the silver light had burned bright for only a heartbeat before it faded again.
"Did you see that?" Aria whispered and her voice shook.
"Yes," he said quietly.
She pulled her wrist back and pressed her palm against her neck, as if she could hold the light there and keep it from disappearing.
"It is gone now," she said. "It is always gone."
Kael studied her face and something in his chest ached in a way he did not understand.
"How long has this happened?" he asked.
"Since the forest," she said. "Since that night."
His jaw tightened at the memory and he stepped closer, slow and careful, the way a man moves near something he is afraid to frighten away.
"Tell me what h
