The world reeked of burned earth and blood.
Lyra’s knees hit the ground hard, but she barely felt it. Her entire focus tunneled to Kael’s body—broad chest rising only shallowly, scorched black where her storm had licked across his skin. His lips were pale, his golden eyes half-closed, glowing faintly as though the bond itself were slipping away.
“No.” Her voice cracked, raw and desperate. She crawled to him, trembling hands pressing to his chest, trying to ignore how hot his skin still was, how blistered beneath her touch. “No, no, no…”
The bond inside her flickered, thin, fragile, as though ready to snap. It was agony, worse than claws, worse than chains. Her power surged up in response, wild and reckless, desperate to fix what it had broken.
Light spilled from her palms unbidden, spa
