Leah Carter’s Point of View
The storm broke apart with a sound like the sky itself had torn open.
Lightning split the night, wind howled through the trees, and the shadow beast dissolved into smoke and flame. For a long, breathless moment, there was only silence, and the echo of its final words. “Bend the knee… or be consumed.”
Then it was gone, the wind fell still, rain pattered weakly against the trees, and Kael dropped to one knee, panting, his hand pressed against the muddy ground. His claws were still out, half-shifted, his golden eyes glowing faintly.
I ran to him, my heart hammering. “Kael, are you hurt?”
He shook his head, though his breath came unevenly. “Not hurt, but it wasn’t just a messenger, that thing carried part of Varul’s will. He’s watching us.”
Emma clung to my ar
