Chapter 181

*Elora*

The warmth was still there when I woke—not from the blankets, not from the low pulse of the Hallowed-Grotto’s spring water, but from something beneath my skin. A flicker of violet fire still lingered where Kaelen had kissed my stomach, like the memory of it had stitched itself into me while I slept. It wasn’t a burn. It wasn’t pain. It was presence. Soft, pulsing, undeniable. Like a second