The night after the messenger’s warning, Kael didn’t sleep.

His body burned like a forge beside me, his scar glowing so fiercely it lit the chamber in a red-gold pulse. His breath came ragged, caught between growls and gasps. Every time I touched him, the bond seared me too, as if the scar didn’t belong only to him but to us both.

“Kael,” I whispered, pressing a damp cloth to his chest, though it sizzled against the heat.

His hand shot up, clamping around my wrist with terrifying ...