DAMIEN

I watched her as the weight of my words settled in, the flicker of fear in her eyes. This Veilshift was something neither of us fully understood, but I knew one thing with brutal certainty: she was playing with fire, and I’d barely managed to pull her from the flames this time. If she vanished again, there was no guarantee I'd find her.

I forced my gaze away from her, needing a moment to suppress the surge of frustration clawing up from inside me. I couldn’t be angry at her—she hadn’t asked for any of this. But the idea of losing her so easily… it was more than I...