The first thing he felt was heat.
Not the suffocating, burning agony that had torn through him during the awakening—this was different. Softer. Warmer. Like fingers brushing across his skin from the inside out. A pulse that wasn't fully his own.
Kael drifted upward through the haze of sleep, each breath pulling him closer to consciousness. The bond tugged at him, thin but constant, as though someone were holding the other end and refusing to let go.
He knew who.
He opened his eyes.
Nyra sat beside his bed, her shoulders tense, her gaze pinned to the window. Moonlight washed over her face, shadowing her eyes, catching the faint shimmer of something beneath her skin. Something fiery. Something ancient.
His throat felt raw, but he managed to speak.
"You feel it too."
She startled, just barely. Her attention snapped back to him. And for a heartbeat he hated how relieved she looked, as if she had been holding the entire damn world together alone.
Kael pushed himself up with a quiet groan, ignoring the sharp ache that pulsed through his ribs.
Her hand was on his arm instantly.
Warm. Fierce.
Alive.
"You shouldn't move." Her voice was low, but steady. "Your body's still—"
"Burning?" He gave a rough, humorless laugh. "Feels like it."
Nyra didn't smile. Her fingers tightened around him, grounding him in a way he didn't want to rely on but… gods, he did.
Kael scanned her face. There was something different in her eyes. Not fear. Not the wild panic from before. Something deeper. As though she'd seen the edge of something vast and terrible—and was waiting for it to look back.
"It's pulling at you," he murmured.
Her breath caught.
He reached, slow and deliberate, catching her wrist. Her pulse jumped under his thumb. The fire humming under her skin wasn't imagined. It thrummed, responding to his touch.
Or to the bond.
"Nyra." His voice dropped, softer than he meant it to. "What did you feel?"
She hesitated.
Not out of distrust—she was trying to find words.
He waited.
Finally, she said, "Something answered me."
Every muscle in Kael's body went taut.
He knew the lore. He knew the old warnings. The Forsaken Flame was not just a source— it was a beacon. A call. A threat. A promise. And Nyra… Nyra had awakened it without restraint. Without guide. Without shield.
"What kind of something?" he asked.
Her eyes flicked to the window again.
"Old," she whispered. "Hungry. But not… malicious."
She swallowed. "Just aware."
Kael's blood ran cold.
If the flame was drawing attention from whatever slept beyond the Veil… then the world was already shifting.
Nyra pulled her wrist from his lightly, as if the sensation unnerved even her. She stood and paced once, restless energy crackling under her skin.
Kael watched her, jaw tight.
"You shouldn't face this alone," he said.
She shot him a sharp look. "And you shouldn't even be standing."
"Doesn't change the truth."
Kael pushed his legs over the edge of the bed. Pain flared through him, bright and tearing, but he didn't stop. He needed to be upright. Needed to be closer to her. Needed to feel like he could fight whatever the hell was coming.
Nyra stepped toward him, instinctively, hands half-raised as though ready to catch him.
His breath hitched.
Not from the pain.
From her.
She didn't even see the way she moved toward him—as if the distance between them offended her. As if something deep inside her demanded she close it.
"Kael," she murmured, "you need to rest."
He reached out, fingers brushing the hem of her sleeve.
Her breath stilled.
"I rest when you're safe," he whispered.
A flicker of heat raced through the bond—sharp, intimate, startling enough that Nyra's eyes widened.
But before either of them could speak—
before the moment could snap into something dangerous—
the air in the room shifted.
Cold. Abrupt. Wrong.
Nyra stiffened.
Kael felt it too. The distant pressure. The ripple of presence. Not inside the keep… but watching it. Watching her.
Kael's voice dropped to a harsh whisper.
"It found you."
Nyra didn't deny it.
Her hand set on his shoulder, steadying both of them.
And for the first time since the awakening—
Kael felt fear. Not for himself.
For her.