Chapter One Hundred Seventy SixLiana POVThe courtyard is still shaking from everything that just happened.People move around us in a blur, tending to the wounded, closing the gates, shouting orders I can barely hear.All I can feel is Kael’s heartbeat under my hands.His arms stay around me until I finally breathe normally again.He keeps his forehead against mine for a moment, grounding me, steadying everything inside me that was falling apart.When he finally speaks, his voice is quieter than the night around us.“He won’t come back,” he says.“He knows now.”I shake my head.“He doesn’t stop. Not when he wants something.”Kael brushes a hand along my jaw, steady, gentle, firm.“He can want whatever he wants,” he says.“You’re not his to claim.”Something inside me unclenches at that.Maybe it’s fear.Maybe it’s relief.Maybe it’s both.Kael helps me to my feet.My legs feel weak, but he doesn’t let go until I’m steady.The air smells like smoke and iron and cold stone.The torch
Last Updated : 2025-11-22 Read more