The wind carried the scent of coming rain, but the sky above the mountains remained dry. Storms hovered at the edges of the realm—just as truths now hovered at the edges of their silence.
Elira stood near the edge of the cliff, her fingers curled tight around the old leather strap of her satchel. The ancient ruins behind her still whispered of secrets they had unearthed just days before. But her thoughts were not on magic or prophecy.
They were on Kael.
She didn’t hear him approach, but she felt it—like the prickle of energy before a storm breaks. His presence always struck her that way now. She turned slightly, her profile outlined by the sun-streaked fog below.
“You found it,” he said quietly, stopping a few paces behind her.
Her jaw tightened. “I did.”
Silence stretched between th
