Chapter 149

Violet

I gasped for air, my heart pounding in my chest. I’d been in the Veil all this time, but now I found myself back in the caves. Everything was blurry. It was just as dark as I remembered, the only source of light coming from the campfire.

My mind was still spinning as I sat up straight. I couldn’t get far because a pair of hands steadied my waist. That familiar touch belonged to Kylan. By now, it had been imprinted in my memory—so much that I could bet my life on it.

“Violet,” I heard him whisper in my ear, though my eyes were on Aelius, who didn’t seem the least bit surprised by all of this. “Breathe.”

Focusing on Kylan’s voice, I quickly regained my vision, but my heart was nowhere near at ease.

How could it be?

“No!” I choked out, shaking my head. I turned halfway to look at Kylan, those deep brown eyes staring back at me as if I had just said the worst thing possible. “I have to go back—she was there!”

No reaction.

This time, I trie