The silence pressed in heavy after the hunters' horns faded. Aria stayed crouched in the cave's shadow, her arm braced against Kael's chest, feeling the shallow rise and fall beneath her palm. His breath rattled, uneven.
Then his eyes closed.
Her stomach dropped. She shook him lightly, then harder, signing desperately with her free hand though he couldn't see. Stay awake. Don't leave me.
Kael didn't answer. His body slumped fully against the stone, his head lolling to one side.
Panic clawed at her throat. The cave seemed to shrink, the air too thin. She pressed both hands against his wound, but his blood seeped warm and steady between her fingers, soaking her palms. She didn't know how to stop it.
The mark at her neck pulsed once, sharp and hot, as though offering itself. Her whole body trembled at the sensation. A terrible thought struck her: if she let it loose just a little, could it heal him? Or would it destroy him instead?
