The snow crunched softly under Kieran’s boots as he carried Lyra through the forest. She was very light in his arms but her shaking body made him hold her tighter, she alf-conscious, her head rested on his chest, hair damp and tangled. She murmured something that he couldn't hear, a mix of fear and lingering pain from the magic and the mate bond. Kieran’s heart chest hurt, the demon was gone but its memory lingered, a shadow he could not shake.

The guards followed behind them, their eyes ...