Caden's POV

The words she said didn't just land and pass.

They stayed. They kept repeating in my head like something that refused to stop.

If I break the spell, his life goes with it.

I didn't move. I didn't speak. For a second, I just stood there, trying to process what she meant, trying to figure out if there was another meaning behind it, something less serious, something we could work around.

But there wasn't.

Cane went completely still beside me.

The dagger slipped from his hand and hit the floor with a sharp sound that echoed through the room. He didn't even look at it. His eyes stayed...