Chapter 14 The Blood Oath

• The forest was behind them now—left in ash and silence. Before them, the road stretched like a scar across the land, leading to the very heart of the kingdom Kael had once called home. The capital. The seat of the crown that had cursed him. Elira’s steps were steady, her eyes sharp, her power still crackling quietly beneath her skin. She hadn’t meant to call it—hadn’t known she could—but now she couldn’t seem to put it away.
• Kael hadn’t spoken of it since.
• But his eyes said everything. Pride. Fear. Awe. And something deeper, something more dangerous.