Kieran’s POV

The first thing I notice when I wake is silence. Not the peaceful kind. The waiting kind.

The room is dim, dawn barely filtering through the heavy curtains. My body feels… different. Stronger. Whole in a way it hasn’t been since Killian’s blade tore through me. The constant ache is gone. The drag on my muscles has eased. Even my breathing feels deeper, steadier.

I am healed. And yet my instincts won’t stop screaming. I sit up slowly, rolling my shoulders, flexing my ...