Kael POV

The sound of her body hitting the floor wasn’t something a man could mistake.

It was a sound that would brand itself into my skull, echoing long after the room went silent again.

I froze halfway down the corridor, my throat going dry as I saw her sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, blood blooming across her temple like a cruel mark.

“Aria!” The word tore out of me, raw, cracked.

My boots hammered against the wood, faster, harder, until I was at her side, dropping to my knees before my brain could even catch up with my body. Her chest rose, shallow and stuttering, but her...