KAEL

I woke up reaching for her.

The bed was cold. The pillow beside mine was still dented from her head but the warmth was gone, replaced by the kind of chill that only settles into sheets when the body that warmed them has been missing for hours.

I knew before I opened my eyes. The bond told me — not a screaming alarm, more like a stretching, the sensation of a rubber band being pulled past its comfortable range, thinning with distance. She was far. Moving farther.

The closet was open. A ...