Chapter 13: The Debt of a Life

Time fractured into a series of frantic, nightmarish images. Finn’s shocked face. The dark, ugly stain spreading across Kaelus’s shoulder. The sheer, terrifying stillness of his powerful body collapsed on the forest floor. My own scream, echoing in my ears. The bond, which had been a thread of tentative hope moments before, became a searing brand of panic. It wasn’t just emotional pain anymore; it was a physical sensation of something vital being ripped away. A cold, sharp emptiness began...