Chapter 123

Kaelen

I felt it a heartbeat too late.

One moment, the cliff was quiet—just wind, water, and the strange, fragile stillness after Maren’s grandmother vanished beneath the lake.

The next, the world lurched.

The leyline screamed.

Not metaphorically.

Not gently.

A raw, keening vibration tore through the stone under our feet, like the earth itself had just realized it was about to be wounded.

“Maren,”