Chapter 46. Aftermath

The cold, pre-dawn air hit them like a shock wave, smelling of ozone, pulverized rock, and the clean, stinging scent of pine. Kade and Aria stood at the ragged edge of the blasted-out entrance, the cavern of the Blood Court chamber venting smoke and magic behind them. The sheer, physical act of breaking free had exhausted the last reserves of their combined catastrophic power. Kade’s Alpha lungs burned with the effort, but his mind, for the first time in his life, was terrifyingly, perfectly clear.

He looked down at Aria. She was leaning against him, her body a source of radiant, contained heat. The borrowed tunic was mostly gone, shredded by the silver power surge and then scorched by the fusion, leaving her draped only in tattered cloth and the glowing script of the Moon Wolf Mark across her spine. But she was whole. The silver lines of dissolution were gone, replaced by smooth skin that pulsed with an inner, soft copper light.

He didn't need to ask if she was sta