MasukViolet"You are improving faster than I thought you would," Aelius said. "Far faster."I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my lips. Coming from him, that was practically the same as a standing ovation.We had been at it since the early morning, and had moved from the hill to the temple. It was hours and hours of working on the Life Sense, Aelius pushing me beyond my limit, and somewhere in the middle of the day, I had found out just how much more I could get out of myself.One thing was certain, the Life Sense was working for me. I could smell out half the village, feel their heartbeats, whether they were calm, frightened, angry, all of it. I could feel the way things happened before they had even started.Kylan had been working with Varius again, while the others were working with the villagers.I looked over my shoulder, out of the temple, and finally noticed the orange sky. The sun was already beginning to set, and we had been so deep in training that I had almost forgotten a
Violet“Kaelis,” I said carefully, looking into her eyes. “What did you just say?”She blinked at me, probably thrown by the sudden shift. “That…three girls were flirting with Nate? And I almost—”“No.” I shook my head. “Before that.”“Oh.” She waved a hand. “That Vayla was fuming and I nearly let her out—”“No,” I said, losing my patience just a little. I sat up straighter and grabbed both of her hands. “That thing in the sky. What did you say about the sky?”Kaelis tilted her head back, going into deep thought. She had most likely already forgotten the words that had left her mouth barely seconds ago. But that was just how her head worked, and I was starting to get used to it.“Oh!” She gasped, remembering. That same energy as before had returned in her voice. “You mean when I completely lost my mind and thought I saw that purple crack in the sky—”“Yes, that!” I breathed. “Tell me more about it.”And just like that, the smile slid off her face. There was a sudden shift behind her e
VioletKylan and I both watched Kaelis, waiting for her to speak. She just sat there with a soft smile, eyes far away, like her mind had drifted somewhere else. Nate lifted his knee and nudged her back to us.“Wake up.” Nate squeezed her waist. Her eyes went big as she jolted upright.“Oh! Yes. Right.” She blinked herself back into the room, sitting up straighter. Her eyes flicked to Kylan. “So. Da—”She stopped, shook her head, catching herself before the word could fully leave her mouth. I watched her swallow it back down, making sure she wouldn’t repeat the same mistake from earlier. “Elyx,” she corrected carefully, her finger in the air. “Elyx asked to speak with Mom. Right before they transferred him to Prison Island.”Kylan let out a weak grunt, as if that was supposed to make us believe he had stopped caring a long time ago. I knew better though. Without the mate bond or the Life Sense, I knew better because I knew him.“So.” Kylan let the word sit a moment. His voice had gone
VioletThe knocking didn’t stop. It was clear Kaelis had absolutely nowhere else to be and all the time in the world to prove it.I giggled into the pillow as Kylan pushed himself off me and forced himself to the door. He picked up his shirt along the way, muttering under his breath as he put it on. Then he swung the door open.“Evening, brother!” Kaelis stood in the doorway for about half a second before she went right past him, into the room. “That took you long enough.”Kylan hummed, sliding his hands into his pockets as Kaelis’s eyes scanned the room. When they landed on me, her whole face lit up. She waved her hand for a second. “Violet!”The smile on her face was so bright, I couldn’t even be mad at her for what she had just interrupted.I gave her a small wave in return. Nate came shuffling in behind her, an apologetic look on his face that was aimed at the both of us.“Were you in Nate’s room?” Kylan asked, his arms folding. His brows lifted as he waited for an answer.Kaelis
VioletMy mouth hadn’t had a single pause since we came back from Bloodstone Haven, and even now, sitting on Kylan’s bed, it was still going.I had told him about the Life Sense, about everything Aelius had taught me today, and he just listened. The whole way back, and now here too, without interrupting me even once.When I finally paused to take a breath after all those hours, I got the time to actually look at him. That’s when I noticed that I was the only one who had said anything. I had been curious about how everything went with Varius, but he had just let me do the talking until this point.Since there wasn’t much to say on his part, I just suspected that perhaps they had taken it easy today.“Are you okay?” I asked. A small smile curled his lips, though his jaw was tight.“Yes. Keep talking.”Only now could I see there was something heavy behind his eyes that hadn’t been there when we left this morning.When he didn’t respond, the smile slipped off my face. “Okay,” I said, my h
KylanThough I knew I probably shouldn’t, I was still stubborn enough to let my eyes travel further, deeper into the cave.It was nothing like the tunnels back at Bloodstone Haven. The cave walls were covered in dark red crystals. I could hear the faint crackle of a fire somewhere in the distance, and when I looked deeper into the cave, I saw a red light flickering.I wasn’t sure whether it was Baelor, but there was something or someone that didn’t want me to stop, so I didn’t.I kept going, but froze when I noticed the men lining the walls. I hadn’t expected anyone else to be there.They sat on the ground, weak and chained, their heads hanging low. When I spotted a few faintly visible crests, my stomach dropped. The Alpha Kingdom?Those were Eamon’s men…My eyes searched frantically, scanning one after another. If his men were here, then Eamon had to be here too, somewhere. ‘You won’t find him here,’ Baelor breathed. ‘Keep going.’There was something odd in his tone when he said it.







