At first, I thought it was blood.

A slow warmth trickled down my thigh, staining the ruined stone beneath me. My wombfire had burned so hot under Kael’s touch, I swore my body was splitting apart. But when my fingers brushed the liquid, it shimmered black-red, pulsing faintly.

Alive.

The mark on my belly throbbed in answer.

Not the Huntress’s. Not Kael’s bond. Something older.

Kael crouched beside me, wolf bristling, light spilling from his skin like firelight through ...