The moment the bond shattered halfway apart, I felt Kael dying inside me.
The pain was immediate and unbearable, not sharp enough to scream through but deep enough to hollow everything inside my chest until breathing itself became difficult.
The fractured connection between us pulsed violently once before destabilizing again, ancient energy ripping through the collapsing world around us hard enough to distort the shattered space completely.
Kael’s body jerked against mine. Blood spilled down the side of his throat while his arms tightened around me instinctively, as though some part of him still believed holding me close could stop the destruction tearing through us both.
“Kael.” My voice broke completely around his name. He tried to answer. The sound never fully came out. The creature
