The moment he admitted I was stronger than him, the bond responded as if it had been waiting for that truth to finally be spoken.
It did not hesitate, and it did not question the words, because the instant they left his mouth, the force within the bond surged with a clarity that felt less like reaction and more like confirmation. My breath slowed as the weight of it settled into me, not as shock, but as something far more dangerous.
Kael did not look away after he said it, and that refusal to retreat carried more weight than any denial could have. His gaze remained locked on mine, steady and controlled, but stripped of the absolute certainty that had once defined him. What replaced it was not weakness, and it was not doubt. It was acceptance.
“You believe that changes anything,” he said
