Chapter 138
Kael didn't let go of her even after the clearing steadied. His arm stayed locked around Ariana's waist, holding her close enough that she could feel the rough rise and fall of his breathing against her. The power around him had not fully settled, and neither had she.
Ariana kept one hand against his chest, her fingers curled tightly into the fabric of his shirt. His heartbeat was there, strong and uneven, but it didn't calm her the way it should have. Something inside her had changed, and both of them knew it.
The presence was no longer pressing from the outside. It had pulled back from the clearing, from the creatures, from the air around them, but it had not left. It had moved deeper into her, quiet enough to be mistaken for silence if she had not known better.
