The silence after Aurelia’s choice did not last.
It never did.
The wind that had softened only moments before twisted violently, screaming across the broken highlands like something enraged by her refusal. The sky darkened in layers clouds folding into one another, spiraling inward as though the world itself were holding its breath.
Kane felt it first.
He stiffened in Aurelia’s arms, his body going taut as instinct screamed danger. He pulled back just enough to look at her, eyes blazing gold.
“It’s coming,” he said.
Aurelia didn’t ask what it was. She already knew.
The Voidborne did not retreat when denied.
It answered.
The ground beneath them pulsed once, twice then split open with a deafening c***k. A rift tore across the plateau, stretching outward like a wound forced open by i
