POV: Kael

“I used to think protecting meant standing in front. I believed it was a simple physics equation: I am the shield, they are the target, and nothing passes through me without my permission but I was wrong.”

Kenny sleeps like nothing ever happened after defending himself.

That terrifies me more than battle ever could.

His chest rises and falls in an easy, rhythmic cadence, his mouth slightly open, one arm flung carelessly above his head like he claimed the space in his dreams the ...