I’m hollow where something vital used to live.
I look at Kael.
He’s still standing. Still frozen. His face is carefully blank, but his hands shake slightly. The only tell that he’s not as composed as he’s pretending.
“K?”
He blinks. Focuses on me. “I’m here.”
“Do you—?” I stop. Can’t finish the question.
Do you still feel anything?
The silence stretches. Neither of us moves. Neither of us speaks.
We just stare at each other across the empty space.
And I wait to see if what’s left is real.
Or if I just lost the only thing that made me matter to him.
Chapter 31
Kael
The healing bond is gone. I feel the absence like a missing limb. That constant awareness of her—the pull that told me where she was, how she felt, whether she needed me—severed.
Clean cut. Final.
Elena and Lila gather their supplies. Blow out the candles. Pack everything away quietly. They don’t speak. Don’t offer comfort or congratulations.
Just finish the work and prepare to leave.
Mara sits in the center of where the circle was. Cross-legged. Hand pressed to her chest. Looking at me with eyes that hold too many questions.
“K?”
“I’m here.”
“Do you—?” She stops. Swallows. “Do you still feel anything?”
Elena pauses at the door. Lila beside her. Both watching. Waiting for my answer.
I should tell Mara the truth. Should explain that, yes, I still feel—
But the words stick.
Because what I feel is complicated. Confused. Not the bond—that’s truly gone, snapped clean as a severed rope—but something else. Something stirring in the space the healing bond left behind.
“I don’t know yet,” I admit.
It’s honest. Not the answer she wants, but honest.
Her expression crumples slightly. Just for a moment. Then she locks it down. Forces something like a smile.
“Right. Yeah. That makes sense. We both need time to—” She gestures vaguely. “To figure out what’s real.”
Elena touches my arm as she passes. “Give it time. Both of you.”
