My heart seized.
Her.
Sera.
Kneeling across from Lucian Reed, their hands clasped, her face flushed, her lips parted like she was caught mid-breath. Her eyes were closed. Her expression was softer than I'd ever seen it—unguarded, glowing with something deep and primal. A sheen of sweat clung to her brow, trickled down the back of her neck.
I felt it before I understood it: the low hum in the room, the frayed threads of something destined being stitched back together.
Ashar howled—not with rage, but with longing. With recognition.
He made me surge toward her, certain—of what I couldn't name, only feel: this was it. Her. The one.
The bond.
I didn't understand it. But he did.
Then—her eyes flew open.
And everything changed.
She gasped, sharp and startled, as
