Kael’s POV
I felt it the moment it happened. The bond didn’t just stir or shift the way it usually did when she was close or thinking of me. It struck hard, sharp enough to force the air from my lungs like something had reached inside my chest and clenched. My hand tightened against the edge of the table before I could stop myself, and the wood cracked beneath my grip with a clean, unforgiving sound.
I didn’t look down at the damage. I didn’t need to. My focus had already narrowed to one thing, one presence that now burned at the edge of my awareness with unsettling clarity. Elara. Something had happened, something she wasn’t supposed to see, and the bond was reacting in a way that told me this wasn’t minor.
I forced my breathing to slow, drawing in air through my nose and holding it be
