Kaelen's POV
I bolted up the stairs, taking them three at a time. The marble walls became a blur, yet my pace felt agonizingly slow. My study sat on the second floor while the gardens waited at ground level. Each stride felt weighted with lead as the bond between us pulsed with her spiraling emotions. The hollow ache I'd sensed earlier had split wide open, consuming her like darkness swallowing light.
When I finally reached the garden entrance, several guards had already assembled. Their stances were rigid, uncertain how to proceed.
Lyra knelt in the emerald grass, her cell phone abandoned at her side. One hand pressed against her abdomen as if she could somehow hold the pieces of herself together through sheer force. Her entire frame trembled like she'd been struck by lightning that had shattered her from within.
