Chapter 73

*Elora*

I didn’t expect the door to slam open.

I didn’t expect the footsteps—fast, hard, frantic—like war drums beating against stone floors. But I should have.

I should’ve known the moment Kael felt my fear and pain, he would lose it.

And lose it, he did.

He stood there in the doorway like a storm caught mid-breath—hair windblown, eyes wide, chest heaving beneath his half-unbuttoned shirt. His au