The guards lifted Kaelen from the grass and brought him into my hall. His feet kept slipping on the moon-white marble.
They placed him on his knees below the throne. Blood had dried over the hands that spent three years digging at my seal. Several nails had grown back crooked.
He looked up and began to cry.
"I'm sorry, Elara. I put you on the altar. I let them drain you for a lie, and I believed that lie over my mate and my son."
His fingers scraped at the black scar where our bond had been.
"I gave Selene the teleportation rune. I left you behind and ordered you to hold the barrier. I killed her when I learned the truth. I pulled every bit of your life from her."
He held his palms toward me.
"I dug for three years. Please look at me. Give me one more chance."
The hall waited for m
