Chapter 52. Flame Unleashed

The moment Aria’s Nexus was sealed by the silver rune, the silence that fell over Kade was more devastating than any explosion. It was the complete, catastrophic sound of his soul tearing in two.

He had been asleep, held captive by the gentle, psychic illusion Aria had woven to spare him from the painful choice. Now, the illusion was gone, leaving him stranded in a reality colder than the highest mountain peaks. He launched himself from the stone slab, the transition from slumber to primal Alpha fury instantaneous.

He didn't need to read the fading copper signature on the wall again. He knew the terms of her surrender. But interwoven with the scent of her fear and sacrifice was a residue that made his blood run backward: the acrid, metallic tang of pure lunar silver, and the putrid, oily reek of Cassandra’s Severed Flame.

Aria hadn't just sacrificed herself; she had been neutralized and taken.

The protective instinct that had been the cornerstone of