The moment the Huntress’s clawed hand rose, I felt it.

The tether I’d woven through the warriors twisted in my chest, tightening like a noose.

One by one, their gold-lit eyes flashed to frost-white. The heat I’d poured into them went rigid and brittle, the fire smothered under a crust of bone-deep cold.

They turned their weapons on me.

“Break it, Ardyn!” Kael’s voice was a roar over the sudden clash of steel. “Cut the bond before she”

“I can’t!” My voice cracked. “If ...