Chapter 30. Bondbreakers

The air in the small wooden cabin still hummed with the faint, residual heat of the failed attempt, a metallic tang of burnt skin and ozone lingering beneath the scent of pine and camphor. Aria hadn't moved since Kade had pulled away, his pained withdrawal echoing the sound of a shattering command.

Jules was bent over Kade’s hands, methodically applying a cool, shimmering paste to the worst of the deep, angry burns. The flesh on his palms and the edges of his lips was a horrifying patchwork of red and near-black char, testimony to the volatile opposition within Aria’s core.

“It’s not enough,” Jules muttered, more to herself than to them, her brow furrowed in concentration. “These are high-thermal flash wounds, Alpha. We treat the physical damage, but we cannot treat the source. Her subconscious is treating the bind as a fatal infection.”

Kade winced as she gently reapplied a linen wrap. “It’s the trauma of the tether,” he rasped, his voice rough. “She spent ye