I could still feel Kael’s heat on my thighs when I stepped into the Hollowbone crypt.

The air pulsed with rot and longing.

“You sure about this?” Ryven asked behind me. “Pacts with Hollowbone spirits always come with a price.”

“So does survival.”

Kael remained outside the chamber, his body still trembling from his rebirth, now scenting faintly of omega heat. I knew he could feel the way our bond had shifted, deepened, become primal.

But this was my ritual.

Not his.

I stood ...