Lyra's POV
The words that left Kaelen's lips were sharper than any blade I'd ever witnessed him wield.
"You made a decision," he said, each syllable measured and deliberate. "You concluded that your judgment superseded the mate bond itself. That you understood better than the Moon Goddess. You determined this omega, my bonded mate, belonged in a chamber crawling with toxic mold. A space that could have ended her life."
"We had no idea it was black—" one of them began.
"You were unaware that mold poses a threat?" Kaelen's tone climbed a dangerous octave. "Ignorant that moisture and stagnant air breed sickness? Or did you comprehend exactly what you were orchestrating and simply refuse to care?"
The silence that followed was suffocating. Dense enough to choke on.
