Chapter 66 : The Voice That Shouldn't Exist
POV: Liora
The decision stayed with me long after the moment had passed, and it didn't leave quietly or fade the way I wanted it to; instead, it settled somewhere deep in my chest, steady and immovable, like something that had already rooted itself into who I was becoming.
I had told myself it was necessary, that it was control, that it was the first real step toward surviving what was coming, but knowing that didn't make it easier to live with.
Kael was alive, and I didn't need to see him to know that; the bond, silent as it had been for days, had stirred just enough earlier to tell me he hadn't died, that he had held on, and I had still chosen not to go to him.
I sat on the edge of the bed with my hands resting loosely in my lap, my gaze unfocused as the memory replayed again, not as something loud or dramatic, but in that quiet, persistent way decisions settle when they can't be undone.
