Chapter 63
The world did not settle after they touched.
It broke harder.
The moment Ariana's hand locked with Kael's, the space around them lost what little balance it had left. The ground beneath their feet split wider, long cracks racing in every direction as if the place itself could no longer decide what it was supposed to be. The darkness that had once pressed in on Ariana now pulled back in uneven waves, but it did not retreat in peace. It twisted, shattered, and reformed again and again, unstable and furious.
Kael did not let go.
Neither did Ariana.
For one strange second, that was the only thing in the world that felt real.
His hand was warm.
Her fingers were shaking.
The bond was still gone, but something else moved between them now, rough and dangerous and alive in a way neither of them understood. It was not the old connection. It was not safe. It felt more like two storms colliding in the same sky, pushing against each other and somehow holding.
