Chapter 73
The space did not settle after the last surge. It held together, but the tension stayed thick in the air, pressing against Ariana's chest like something waiting for the next mistake. Nothing moved, yet nothing felt still, and that silence made it worse.
It was not peace. It felt like something had already shifted too far, and now it was only waiting to see what they would do with it. The ground beneath her feet held, but the faint fractures still pulsed with residual energy, as if the space itself had not finished reacting.
Kael stood a few steps away from her, breathing steady, but nothing about him felt steady anymore. The lightning along his arm had changed again, no longer lashing out or flickering, but staying close to his skin, dark and controlled in a way that felt too deliberate.
