POV: KaelI’m crawling on my knees through this garbage of a hallway, dirt under my hands, walls sweating with some kind of magic that hates me. My chest feels like it’s being pressed by a fist, not metaphorical, real, like it’s trying to stop me from getting close. And I know it’s close. Darius is close. I can feel him through the layers, through the bindings, like a heartbeat buried under snow. I can feel her too, Elara. She’s a hurricane on my side, running forward, fists swinging, teeth bared, throwing wolves into walls and over railings. And I swear I can’t stop staring at her even though I’ve got work to do because she moves like fire.I raise my hands, muttering under my breath, words curling out wrong and ragged, not neat, not polished. The incantation stutters halfway and the barrier pulses at me. It’s like it knows me, knows my voice, knows the shape of my hands. I freeze because it’s personal. It bites. I try again, smooth it, but the wall yanks back and pushes me off my rh
Read more