Ashbound Moon
The rune light reversed, draining downward like a tide pulling back.
And Kieran screamed—not in pain, in rage—
because something inside the corridor had just snapped the mate bond’s leash for one heartbeat.
I staggered, breath ragged.
And in that one heartbeat of freedom, a third presence stepped into the corridor behind us—
heavy, cold, familiar.
Mara.
Her mouth unsealed, eyes bright with fury.
She smiled.
“Perfect,” she whispered. “Now I know what to steal.”
And she raised a bowl of black water over my head.
Bab Populer