They didn't stop walking.
But everything had changed.
Kael could feel it in the way the others looked at him now—not just cautious.
Wary.
"You absorbed it," one of them said finally.
Kael frowned. "I destroyed it."
"No," Lira said quietly. "You didn't."
Kael looked at her. "Then what did I do?"
She hesitated.
Then: "You fed."
The word landed heavier than any accusation.
Kael's stomach tightened. "That's not—"
"It is," she said. "That's how it grows."
The flame pulsed faintly.
Yes.
Kael's breath sharpened. "Stop agreeing with her."
"That's not a good sign," the leader muttered.
Kael ignored him. "If I don't do that, I die. You said it yourself—I won't last alone."
Lira didn't deny it.
"That doesn't mean you should become something worse."
Kael stopped walking.
"Define worse."
Silence.
Then the leader spoke.
"Something that doesn't know the difference anymore."
Kael held his gaze.
"And how close am I?"
The man didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
End of Chapter 6