Chapter 70
Ariana did not move.
Kael stood only a few steps away, but the distance between them felt wider than anything she had felt before. His hand was still raised, and the lightning around it had thickened into something darker and slower, pulsing in uneven waves that no longer followed the pattern she knew. It did not look wild. It looked worse than that. It looked like it was trying to decide what it wanted to become.
Her chest tightened.
"Kael."
He did not answer.
His eyes were still on her, but something in them had changed. He was not gone. She could still see him. That was what made this harder. If he had been completely lost, she would have known what to do. But he was still there, fighting, and that meant every choice could still hurt him more.
The thing wrapped around his arm shifted again.
