Kaelen stood frozen in the chamber, his hand still pressed against his chest. The golden light that had clung to his skin was fading, but beneath it, the black veins of corruption pulsed with a sickly rhythm. They writhed beneath his flesh, searching for purchase, for something to consume.
But they could not find it.
Something deeper pushed them back. Something vast and ancient that had been sleeping inside him for longer than he could remember.
The beast.
His breath came in ragged gasps. The vision of the golden eye still burned in his mind, the weight of that ancient gaze pressing against his consciousness. He had seen it before, in fragments, in dreams he could not remember. But never like this. Never so close.
Never so aware.
"Kaelen?"
Lyra's voice cut through the haze. She was at his side, her hand on his arm, her face tight with concern.
"Kaelen, you're white as bone. What happened?"
