KAEL'S POV
The fire faded.
Not gone—never gone—but settling into something raw and alive between us, like an ember refusing to die. My arms still cradled Ayla, her body trembling, her skin slick with sweat and streaked in soot. Her chest heaved, silver-gray eyes half-lidded, but she was breathing.
She was alive.
I dropped my forehead to hers, my voice hoarse. "You broke it."
Her lips trembled into something that was almost a smile. "We broke it."
I wanted to believe her. But my hands shook as I held her, because I'd seen what it had cost. Every scream, every ragged breath, every piece of her body the Binder tried to claim. I'd felt her slip once, twice—too close to never coming back.
And still she pushed. Gods, she pushed harder than I ever could have asked.
