Chapter 10 The Fire Between

• Kael hadn’t spoken since the dawn.
• The fortress was quiet now—no alarms, no battle cries, no hiss of spells in the air. Just the echo of bootsteps over worn stone and the uneasy rhythm of breath that came after too much had happened, too fast.
• Elira followed him into the war room, the scent of ash still clinging to her skin. Her arms ached. Her mind burned with too many questions, but she didn’t ask them yet. Not while he looked like that.