Outside the stone walls of the manor, the wind was howling, carrying with it the promise of a storm not far behind. Lyra stood at the window, her fingers resting on the cool glass as she watched the dark clouds roll in. Her reflection stared back at her, but the woman she saw felt like a stranger. She had changed—drastically. All that power surging inside her, the weight of the decisions she had to make pressing down upon her, felt like a ram on a battering ram.
She could feel Kael's presence behind her, the rawness of his energy as turbulent as the storm building in intensity outside. He'd barely left her side since she'd come to, his eyes always watching, weighing. She knew he was waging a fight between protection and letting her find herself. But there was no time for waging battles in his head-not now.
