The Scent of Pain

The Citadel was tense, waiting for sunrise. The grand expedition to the Shadow Canyons was tomorrow. I was packed, dressed in simple travel clothes, and waiting. My room felt like the final stop before the gallows.

I tried to focus on the map, the compass Demetrius had given me, and the details of the mountain paths. But all I could feel was the constant, low-level burn of the Mate Bond. It was a dull, heavy ache, like a piece of iron rusting inside my chest.

Demetrius had ...