Chapter 137
Kael felt the change in her before anything else moved, and it hit him harder than the pressure surrounding the clearing.
It wasn't loud, and it didn't come with force. It showed in the way her body eased instead of resisting, in the way her breathing slowed instead of tightening, as if something inside her had stopped fighting and started listening. That single shift was enough to make his chest tighten with something close to panic.
His grip closed around her wrist, pulling her toward him without hesitation. "Ariana," he said, his voice firm, sharper than before. "Stay with me."
She didn't answer.
Her eyes were still on him, but the focus behind them had shifted, not empty, not lost, but turned inward in a way that made it clear her attention wasn't fully his anymore.
The presence responded immediately.
