Aria
The silence after the mountain falls feels wrong.
Not peaceful.
Not safe.
Just empty in a way that makes my skin ache.
Dust drifts through the air in pale clouds while broken stone settles across the mountain path behind us. The prison entrance is gone now, buried beneath thousands of tons of collapsed rock and shattered magic.
And somehow—the bond is louder than ever.
Cassian’s steady focus anchors the edge of my thoughts.
Lucien’s sharp awareness flickers like silver beneath my skin.
Eryndor hums with restless energy and hidden fear.
And Kaelith—
Gods.
Kaelith burns.
Not out of control.
Not anymore.
But intensely enough that every pulse through the bond feels like standing too close to wildfire.
The realization unsettles me more than the prison did.
Because I can fe
