**Chapter 27 — Fractured Truths**
They emerged from the heart of the rift changed.
The floating islands around them had gone still, the violent tremors replaced by an eerie, heavy silence. The massive crystal dimmed to a low, pulsing glow, as if exhausted from what it had witnessed and forced upon them.
Liora stood on shaky legs, her body humming with raw power. Her skin still carried faint traces of violet shadow that flickered like living tattoos. The bite marks on her neck throbbed with a dark, possessive heat — Cairis's claim, now permanently sealed into her flesh.
Cairis stood beside her, taller and more imposing than before. The rift had restored much of his lost strength. His horns seemed sharper, his eyes burned with brighter crimson, and shadows clung to his shoulders like loyal hounds. Blood from their frenzied binding still stained his lips and chest.
Neither of them spoke for a long moment.
