ra

e. Wrong silence. Empty. Like the worl

d. Dark stone. Smooth. Cold. Faint symbols shimmered along the surface, curling like they were alive.

in my nose, like smoke after lightning. I tried to sit up. Pain exploded through my chest and arms

oice said. "You'l

llow bowls, and small glass vials filled with dark liquids. Her dark hair, streaked with silve

pered. My throat b

said. "You collapse

n from every side. Kael's low, commanding voice. Th

shoulder, firm, steady, unshakable. "Easy," she said. "

ing?" I

face. Almost amusement. "No," she sai

cold against my skin. She didn't check my pulse, not really. Her eyes unfocused s

s it?"

slow and deep. My breath caught. A shiver ran through me. For a heartbeat, my thoughts fractured into pure sensation. Heat ben

hand back as if burned. "Has th

re. From hunger. Stress

e crossed the room quickly, poured a dark

pread, easing the pressure in my chest. My breathing slowed. The pain

omega,"

," I wh

behave like one," she re

oes tha

ke my heart hammer. "Your body remembers somet

mbers

arding the answer. "That," she

stepped inside. The air shifted the moment he crossed the threshold, heavy, m

he said, c

al strain," Maelis replied

w tighten

ges it does not fully underst

ed to me. "What

ted. Too long

she said finally.

question," Kael s

is said slowly. "Signs

pletely. "Awak

hand flicked slightly. "Enough. Yo

"As you comm

my chest like an invisible weight. "You will r

hroat. He stepped closer, still caref

ostly pressure

t is coming," he said quietly. The certainty

at was all. And then he left

at the edge of something very old. Something t

I asked. "Do

e said. "But

ragmented and jagged. The moon burned red in the sky. Blood so

side. Deep, ancient, vibrating in the

und?" I

" she said. "The counci

slammed

"The Blood Moon. It has

er. "That's..

aid. Her eyes were

with warning. And one truth struck me, deep and unsh