Adrian's POV
I should have felt relief the moment the walls of my own kingdom came into view, the spires of Duskbane rising like sentinels against the twilight. Home. But the weight in my chest was unbearable, a heaviness that made every breath feel deliberate, measured, like the world itself had conspired to pin me down.
My fingers brushed the faint, ever-present warmth beneath my collarbone, Damien's mark and I felt it pulse, responding to my thoughts of him as sharply as a dagger might pierce the skin.
It had been too long. Too long since the last time I had seen him, too long since I had held him close, too long since the nights weren't consumed by the ache of absence. Even the bond that tethered us, once a comforting hum beneath my skin, now throbbed with unbearable urgency, sharp as lightning in the darkest storm.
