ra
e. Wrong silence. Empty. Like the worl
d. Dark stone. Smooth. Cold. Faint symbols shimmered along the surface, curling like they were alive.
in my nose, like smoke after lightning. I tried to sit up. Pain exploded through my chest and arms
oice said. "You'l
llow bowls, and small glass vials filled with dark liquids. Her dark hair, streaked with silve
pered. My throat b
said. "You collapse
n from every side. Kael's low, commanding voice. Th
shoulder, firm, steady, unshakable. "Easy," she said. "
ing?" I
face. Almost amusement. "No," she sai
cold against my skin. She didn't check my pulse, not really. Her eyes unfocused s
s it?"
slow and deep. My breath caught. A shiver ran through me. For a heartbeat, my thoughts fractured into pure sensation. Heat ben
hand back as if burned. "Has th
re. From hunger. Stress
e crossed the room quickly, poured a dark
pread, easing the pressure in my chest. My breathing slowed. The pain
omega,"
," I wh
behave like one," she re
oes tha
ke my heart hammer. "Your body remembers somet
mbers
arding the answer. "That," she
stepped inside. The air shifted the moment he crossed the threshold, heavy, m
he said, c
al strain," Maelis replied
w tighten
ges it does not fully underst
ed to me. "What
ted. Too long
she said finally.
question," Kael s
is said slowly. "Signs
pletely. "Awak
hand flicked slightly. "Enough. Yo
"As you comm
my chest like an invisible weight. "You will r
hroat. He stepped closer, still caref
ostly pressure
t is coming," he said quietly. The certainty
at was all. And then he left
at the edge of something very old. Something t
I asked. "Do
e said. "But
ragmented and jagged. The moon burned red in the sky. Blood so
side. Deep, ancient, vibrating in the
und?" I
" she said. "The counci
slammed
"The Blood Moon. It has
er. "That's..
aid. Her eyes were
with warning. And one truth struck me, deep and unsh
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