POV: Alex
The battlefield would not stop screaming.
Even after the shadows retreated, even after the storm split open and the dark sky recoiled, the silence never truly came. It lingered in the air like a held breath—tense, waiting, unfinished.
My hands were still glowing.
Too bright.
Too hot.
Power churned under my skin like liquid fire, threatening to tear me apart from the inside. I could feel it ripping at my control, surging in violent waves I barely recognized as my own.
And then I felt her.
Riley.
Her presence slammed into my mind through the bond—steady, fierce, unwavering.
I’ve got you.
The moment her voice reached me, something inside me broke open and healed at the same time.
I dropped to my knees in the shattered courtyard, gasping for breath as my power finally ste
