Kael woke choking on a name he refused to remember.
It burned the inside of his skull, half-formed, sharp as a blade pressed to the mind. He rolled onto his side, coughing blood into the dust, the canyon’s cold stone biting into his ribs.
Not yet, he thought. Please—not yet.
The seal answered with a slow, ominous throb.
It had changed, not weaker, but thinner.
Kael forced himself upright, leaning against the rock wall as fractured symbols crawled along his skin like living scars. The correction unit’s presence had retreated but confused, delayed—but it hadn’t vanished. Somewhere above, the system was recalculating again, tightening tolerances, preparing countermeasures.
And Eron—Kael closed his eyes.
He felt his brother like a beacon now, painfully bright, holy resonance flaring str
