Chapter 78

• Alera’s Pov
• I laid there, staring at the carved ceiling above me, not seeing it , just letting my mind float through everything that had happened, everything I had seen. My body was here, tangled beneath Kael’s thick furred blanket, wrapped in sheets that smelled faintly of cedar and him. But my soul? It was still in that dungeon, standing between the warmth of my mother’s embrace and the choking pull of that mysterious force.
• My fingers traced small patterns over the fabric beside me, the place where Kael usually lay. But this morning, it was cold. He hadn’t returned to the room or if he had, he’d left before I stirred.