The silence after the wraiths dissolved was unbearable.
Lyra stood in the middle of the scorched ground, her breaths ragged, her hands trembling as embers dripped from her fingertips. Her skin still hummed with the power of their unity—Kael’s fire, Lucien’s shadows, Ronan’s silver flame—braided together so tightly she could barely tell where she ended and they began.
And gods, it terrified her.
Kael was the first to break the silence. He pulled away just enough to look down at her, his golden eyes fierce, his chest rising and falling with barely restrained rage. “Don’t ever do that again,” he growled, voice low, his hand still gripping her waist like he couldn’t let go.
Her lips parted. “Do what?”
“Bind yourself to him.” He jerked his chin toward Lucien, who stood half a step away, hi
