Sera's Pov
The first thing I saw was blood.
Kael had collapsed, his hands limp at his sides, eyes dull but somehow still watching us. The shimmering veil of the space around us—the battleground that Velka had brought us into—was beginning to crack at the edges, like stained glass coming undone. Time was running out. Lucian and I rushed toward him, our steps heavy, unsteady, half from exhaustion, half from disbelief.
"Kael!" I cried, but he didn't lift his head.
He heard me though. I knew he did, because he gave the faintest smile.
"Don't," he rasped as he managed to turn himself over. I dropped to my knees in front of him. Blood trickled down the corner of his mouth, thick and dark like something internal had ruptured. His entire body trembled, barely holding itself together. "Don't come closer. If you touch me now, the tether might break."
