Kael twists the soldier’s arm until the bone snaps, a low, pained grunt the only sound he makes despite the injury.
But I am beyond restraint now.
The light in me surges, answering something deeper than command.
Something like protection.
Purpose.
I open my palm.
And the world ignites.
A corona of gold sweeps across the square, devouring everything in its path—fury and Starlight braided together. The blast lifts the Caelorian line off their feet and burns through their augmented veins like divine retribution.
The golden motes of their remains float across Thornewood like a spattering of Stars, a beautiful contrast to their ugly invasion.
When it’s over, the rain hisses against the smoldering ground.
Silence.
Ash.
The air hums like a struck chord.
Then—
The faint, rhythmicclangof metal.
A shiver of current through the air.
A pulse I know better than my own heartbeat.
Shadows.
“Morrathys,” Teddy breathes.
And we run.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
KAEL
Shadows pourfrom the treeline like smoke given shape.
I don’t stop—I sprint like the lives of my people depend on it.
Metal grinds against metal, but over it, I can hear the call of home.Of Shadows.
I cut through the overgrown path in the direction of the dungeons—where the opening to the bunkers are—and a shrill, screeching cry cleaves through the air.
“Kael!”
Fear seizes my chest.
Nalya.
The rattle of the cell gates commands my attention from deep inside the dungeons.She’s trapped.
