(This chapter contains their POVs, this time on purpose)
Kael's POV
I drifted in and out of sleep, the edges of my mind hazy, but something anchored me.
A touch. Gentle. Soft. Fingers threading lightly through my hair.
And then,
A voice.
Her voice.
Low. Fragile. So quiet I almost believed it belonged to the dream I was having.
"I love you, Kael."
The words slipped into my half-conscious mind and shattered everything. My breath caught in my throat. For a moment, I thought I'd imagined it, because I'd kill to make it reality. I'd sell my soul, burn my kingdom, bleed my fists dry just to hear her say those words and mean them.
But then the voice carried on, whispering apologies, broken confessions—words blurred into nothing, because my whole body was locked on those first three.
I love you.
God. Did she really say it? Or had I finally lost my grip on what was real and what was the torment of my own head?
