LOGINAmara's POV Darkness swallowed everything. I wasn’t in the wasteland anymore. I was somewhere else. The air was thick with tension. Voices in the distance. Fear. And then, I saw him. A young man, in his early twenties. He looked so familiar. I moved closer, just then, my breath caught. Dad? I yelled, but he didn’t seem to hear or see me. He looked scared. I could see the horror in his eyes. His arms were wrapped tightly around something. A baby. My heart stuttered. The baby was crying weakly, like she was hungry but also scared. Her tiny hands trembled. He tried to comfort her, rocking her back and forth while humming in Druid language. Then suddenly—the crying stopped. My brows furrowed. The baby’s small fingers were in her mouth… Sucking, trying to silence herself. Something about it felt wrong. The more I stared at them, my chest ached for reasons unknown to me. “Take her,” a voice said. I turned. A woman stood a few steps away. She was covered in a hood,
Amara’s POV I didn’t move. Kael’s arms were still wrapped around me, firm and unyielding. But his words kept echoing in my mind—over and over, refusing to fade. Be careful who you trust. There had been something in his voice. Not hesitation. Certainty. My fingers tightened slightly against his shirt. The bond… it meant I could feel whatever emotions he tried to hide. I pulled back just enough to look at him. His expression was calm. Unreadable. But I could feel it. Something beneath the surface. Something he wasn’t saying. I closed my eyes and focused, trying to reach whatever thread of emotion I could find through the bond. At first, there was nothing. Then—it opened. Slowly. Just enough. I felt his wolf holding everything back. A restraint—tight, suffocating, barely containing something dangerous. My breath hitched as I pushed a little further. “Don’t.” The connection snapped instantly. He shut me out. My eyes flew open. The emptin
Amara’s POV I woke up to an empty room. For a moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to remember where I was. Then it all came rushing back. Kael. Last night. My breath hitched slightly. I turned my head. He wasn’t there. The space beside me was cold, as though he had been gone for a while. A strange feeling settled in my chest. I tried to sit up, but the moment I moved, a sharp ache spread through my body, forcing a soft gasp out of me. My muscles protested, every inch of me sore in a way that made it impossible to ignore. I shut my eyes briefly. He was a beast… last night. Heat rushed to my cheeks as the memories came flooding back—his touch, his intensity, the way he had completely taken control. I buried my face in the sheets, groaning softly in embarrassment. Why am I thinking about this again? A knock sounded on the door, pulling me out of my thoughts. I quickly pulled the covers over myself. “Come in.” The door opened, and a maid stepped in
Amara’s POVMy heart raced as I stammered, “I… I was trying to get the Veil history.” The words rushed out before I could stop them. “I’m sorry.”Kael’s eyes locked onto mine, as if he were trying to read every thought I had. For a long moment, neither of us moved.Then, without a word, he released me and turned away.I froze.He didn’t say anything. Did he believe me?My chest tightened. He’ll misunderstand me… I thought, panic rising as I hurried after him.But when I reached the hallway, he was already gone.The guards nearby looked at me with surprise. They hadn’t seen me leave.I lowered my gaze, frustration and defeat settling over me, and quietly returned to my room.As I stepped inside, I bumped my forehead against something hard.“Ouch…” I muttered, rubbing the spot.When I looked up, my breath caught.Kael was standing there.I instinctively stepped back. Was he trying to scare me…? I thought, my pulse quickening.He moved closer.And with each step he took forward, I retrea
Amara’s POVKael didn’t return to the room last night.And he had been avoiding me.I spent most of my time in the room prepared for Adrian inside the castle. I didn’t know him well, not really, but I felt guilt whenever I looked at him.Some days, I used my powers, hoping he would wake.Other days, I buried myself in work—anything that had to do with the palace, to keep my mind from wandering.After a long day, I found myself back in his room again.I stood beside his bed, watching him in silence.Still unconscious.“Wake up…” I whispered softly, though I knew he wouldn’t hear me.After a while, I sighed and turned to leave.The moment I opened the door, I stopped.Liam.After days of not seeing either him or Kael, he was the last person I expected to find standing there.He bowed slightly. “My queen.” But I barely heard him.My thoughts were elsewhere.“Where is Kael?” I asked quietly.Liam didn’t answer immediately.His expression looked conflicted, like he was deciding whether or
Kael’s POV I never planned to execute Aurelia. Not yet. But Cassian knew one thing about me, I do not bluff. And I knew him just as well. He would never sit still while his sister rotted in my dungeon. So I waited. It happened that night. By the time the alarm reached me, it was already too late. The guards stationed at the dungeon door were dead. They had come for her, cutting down anyone in their path. They freed Aurelia… and tried to reach Cassian. But I had already moved him. His cell was no longer where they expected, and the new location was heavily guarded. When they saw the cell empty, they chose to escape without him. By the time they reached the outer walls of the castle, we were already waiting. They froze the moment they saw us. My warriors surrounded them from every side. There was no escaping. My gaze swept across them… and then stopped when I saw a familiar figure. At the front stood a woman cloaked in black. I tried to catch her scent, to unveil her iden
AMARA’S POVThe knock came just as the early morning light began filtering through the tall glass windows of my chamber.I had barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, images of the Arena, the crowd, and the weight of expectations clawed their way back into my thoughts.When the knock came again,
AMARA POVThe kingdom was healing. That was the first thing I noticed when Kael finally allowed me outside. The borderlands were scarred, but green pushed through the blackened soil. Flowers bloomed where ash had fallen days before. The people worked together to restore their homes. The missing chi
AMARA’S POVOne moment, the blade was buried in my body—a decision I made to save Kael from myself.Kael held me as I bled out in a pool of my own blood. I could hear him screaming in pain as he watched me breathe my last.The pain ended too suddenly.I drifted into endless darkness.I couldn’t fee
We marched out before dawn. By the time we reached the border, the sky was still sealed in darkness, unmoved by the passing hours. The wind moved in uneasy circles, carrying the scent of damp soil and old magic. There were no bodies that spoke of the attack I saw in Keth’s vision. I ordered the







