Chapter 117

Maren

Kaelen steps back.

Not far.

Not enough to break the bond humming between us.

But enough that I feel it — a shift, a retreat, a crack forming beneath the surface of his self-control.

I feel it like a sting under my ribs.

His eyes aren’t on me.

They’re on the ground.

On the lake.

On the horizon.

Anywhere but me.

And his dragon — the fire beneath his skin — flickers erratically, like it doesn’t