Kaelan's POV
"What the Darkness Wants"
The world was a blur of red and shadow as I forced myself upright.
My lungs burned like I'd inhaled fire; the curse clawed beneath my skin, a living thing desperate to hollow me out. Every heartbeat sounded wrong too loud, too sharp, like something inside me was cracking one rib at a time.
But none of that mattered.
Because through all the pain…
I could still feel her.
Lyra.
Her fear. Her heartbeat. Her scent clinging to the bond like a hand reaching for mine across a storm.
And the darkness inside me this thing that wanted to devour everything I cared about reacted to her presence like a starving predator scenting prey.
I gritted my teeth and pushed against it, locking down the beast inside me.
Not her.
Never her.
