Aria bolted upright in the dark. Wrong. Something was entirely wrong.
She had been out cold in the lower room, shoved close against Kael’s chest with the four-pointed mark radiating heat against her ribs. The bond between them had been humming bright and steady. Then, for no reason she could name, her eyes snapped open. The hearth had died down to a dull layer of red coals. Outside the high window, the wind kicked up, dragging off the open sea. Next to her, Kael stayed under, his breath coming in those slow, heavy rhythms.
She stayed perfectly still and reached outward with her mind.
The seal had been expanding for weeks now, creeping deeper into her just like Senna said it would. By now she could track Ashenveil from this distance. It was faint, sure, a tiny prickle at the outermost ed
