The days after their confrontation in the garden had shifted, their uneasy truce evolving into something more fragile. Selene and Kael continued their roles in the public eye, the Soul-Oath between them both a secret and an undeniable truth that no one dared to question—except themselves.
Kael found himself unsettled in ways he couldn't explain. The more he tried to push away his suspicions about Selene, the stronger they grew. His mind raced, constantly returning to the memories he couldn't quite piece together, to the images from the battlefield, the dreams that left him tangled in his own confusion. The bond, still raw and unrelenting, was forcing him to confront emotions he had buried for years—feelings of betrayal, anger, and an undeniable pull toward the woman he had once known as a
