Chapter 22

Aurelia POV

The feverish delirium lasted for three days.

I woke in the Redmoon medical wing to the bitter taste of crushed willow bark and tincture of silver. The violent backlash of Draven’s rage through the mate bond had left my veins burning and my body trembling with lingering exhaustion. Talia stayed by my bedside, changing cold compresses on my forehead while Cassian stood watch near the door, his presence steady and silent.

By the fifth day, the phantom phantom burning in my chest had quieted into a dull, manageable ache. My magic returned in faint golden embers, slowly knitting together the frayed corners of my stamina. When I finally stood on my own feet without my knees buckling, I knew I couldn’t spend another second hiding in bed.

On the fifteenth day—the exact midpoint of the thirty-day sanctuary agreement—I stood in the staging room near the river outpost, pulling a dark traveling cloak over my shoulders.

Cassian stepped in, holding