Kael lay pale against the blackened floor, breath rattling. His chest rose and fell like waves breaking against a jagged cliff uneven, desperate, and far too slow.

The scar was quiet now, its fury reduced to a faint red-gold glow. But I knew what it had taken from him.

I could feel it through the bond: his strength, his dominance, his wolf. All dimmed.

I clutched his hand, forcing my fire through our joined skin, but it was like pouring flame into ash.

It smoked.

It smoldered.

It did not ...