The bond.
Right. Back to that.
“You are not her.” He says it firmly. As if he’s trying to convince himself as much as me. “When Lyria entered a room, people quieted. She had that quality—made chaos settle just by existing. You walk into chaos and immediately stir it up.”
Despite everything, my mouth twitches. “Are you calling me chaotic?”
“I am saying you are fundamentally different people. She moved through the world like water. You move through it like—” He pauses, searching for words. “Like electricity. Unpredictable. Powerful. Impossible to contain.”
“That’s either a compliment or you’re saying I’m exhausting.”
“Both.” Something that might be a smile flickers across his face. Then fades. “You are not a replacement. Not an echo. Not a second chance at redemption.”
“Then what am I?”
Kael’s eyes hold mine. Gold fire banked but present. “I do not know yet. But I know—” He stops. Swallows. “I know that when I saw Elena and Lila, I felt grief. Old grief. The kind that lives in your bones. But when I look at you—”
He doesn’t finish.
Can’t finish, maybe.
“What?” I press. “When you look at me, what?”
He closes his eyes. “I do not have words for it yet.”
Great.
Another non-answer.
I want to tell him that the bond isn’t the only reason I’m here. That somewhere between the helicopter crash and this moment, something shifted. Changed. Became more than just survival.
But I don’t know if that’s true.
“Kael,” I start.
The door behind us crashes open.
We both turn.
Caleb stands in the doorway, expression grim. “Kael. We need you downstairs. Vex… Viktor thinks he can break through the mental blocks if we move now.”
Kael’s jaw tightens. “How long?”
“An hour. Maybe two. We need your read on him. Your insight into—” Caleb stops. Glances at me. Then back to Kael. “We need you.”
The pressure of crown and duty settle back onto his shoulders. I can see it happening. The way he straightens. The way his expression shifts from vulnerable to controlled.
King face.
I hate it.
“Go,” I say. “They need you.”
“Mara—”
“We’ll talk later.” I force something like a smile. “When you’re not busy being historically significant.”
He doesn’t smile back. Then he nods and follows Caleb through the door.
