Chapter 39 A Brief Peace
For the first time in what felt like forever, silence filled the ruins.
Not the haunted, heavy silence of danger.
A softer one.
The kind that follows survival.
Lina sat wrapped in Kael’s arms beside the heartstone, her head resting against his shoulder. He hadn’t let go of her since she collapsed — not even for a moment. Every time she shifted, even slightly, his arms tightened instinctively as if afraid she’d disappear again.
She didn’t mind.
Not at all.
In fact… she leaned closer.
Kael exhaled shakily, brushing his lips across the top of her head.
“You scared the life out of me,” he murmured, voice low and rough.
Lina smiled weakly. “I scared myself too.”
He pulled her fully onto his lap, ignoring Aric’s pointed cough and Riven’s smirking eyebrow raise. Kael buried his face in her neck, breathing her in like he had to confirm she was real with every inhale.
“I felt you leave,” he whispered.
His breath trembled against her skin.
“I felt you slip away from me.”
Lina placed her hand over his. “I didn’t leave you. Not really.”
“You almost did.”
She lifted her head and touched his cheek gently.
“But I didn’t. I chose to stay.”
His golden eyes softened, pain and relief flickering behind them.
“You chose me,” he said quietly.
She nodded.
“I always will.”
His breath hitched.
He didn’t kiss her — not yet — but he pressed his forehead to hers, their noses brushing, eyes locked, everything unspoken simmering in the small space between them.
“I don’t deserve you,” he murmured.
Lina cupped the back of his neck.
“Yes, you do.”
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“I don’t ever want to feel what I felt when you went still in my arms.”
“You won’t,” she whispered back.
“I’m here, Kael.”
He closed his eyes as if savoring the words.
Aric cleared his throat delicately.
“Not to interrupt the… moment… but we need to talk about what happened.”
Kael didn’t even blink.
“No,” he said flatly.
“She needs to rest.”
Riven flopped onto a fallen pillar. “Kael, not everyone can survive on emotional breakdowns and rage the way you do.”
Kael shot him a look that promised murder.
Yara snorted softly. “Riven means… Lina should at least eat. And maybe drink something. Or sleep.”
Lina managed a small smile.
Kael reluctantly loosened his grip — but only enough to let her sit beside him instead of on his lap. His arm stayed firmly around her waist, pulling her against his side like he feared she’d vanish if he blinked.
Aric knelt in front of her.
“How do you feel?” he asked gently.
“Tired,” Lina admitted.
“And… stretched. Like part of me is still out there.”
Aric nodded. “That’s normal. Your magic is still settling.”
Kael tensed. “Is she in danger?”
“No,” Aric assured him.
“But her magic needs time to return fully to her body. For now… she’ll feel things more sharply. Emotions. Senses. The bond.”
Kael stiffened.
“The bond?”
Lina felt it immediately — the pull between them stronger, warmer, alive in a way that made her breath catch. Their connection pulsed in her chest, responding to every small shift of Kael’s heartbeat.
“It’s… louder,” she whispered.
Kael stared at her, pupils dilating slightly.
Aric nodded. “When she reforged the barrier, your merged magic deepened. Now your emotions bleed into each other more easily.”
Riven snorted. “So basically, if Kael freaks out, Lina will freak out too. Great.”
Yara elbowed him. “Or she’ll calm him down. Ever think of that?”
Kael didn’t look away from Lina.
“This changes everything,” he murmured.
She smiled softly.
“Nothing changes how I feel.”
His throat bobbed with emotion.
Then he whispered it—
So quiet she almost didn’t hear it.
“So much,” he said.
“I feel so much for you… I don’t know how to hold it all.”
Her breath caught.
He didn’t say the words.
Not yet.
But she felt them.
Felt them through the bond.
Felt them in the way he looked at her.
Felt them in the way he touched her like she was something precious he’d been afraid to want.
“Kael…” she whispered.
He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, fingers lingering on her cheek.
“Rest,” he murmured.
“We’ll talk after.”
She leaned into his hand.
“Only if you sleep too.”
He smirked softly.
“I’ll sleep,” he promised.
“Right beside you.”
She blushed.
Yara rolled her eyes at Riven. “They’re disgustingly sweet.”
Riven whispered loudly, “I give them one hour before they finally—”
“Finish that sentence,” Kael growled, “and I’ll rip out your vocal cords.”
Riven shut up.
Lina laughed — a soft, exhausted sound — and Kael’s expression melted instantly at the sound, as if it were the first laugh he’d heard in years.
Aric stood, looking toward the trees.
“We have a few hours before the creature tries again,” he said.
“And Cassian will be gathering its rage. When he comes back… he won’t be alone.”
Kael pulled Lina closer.
“Let them come,” he said quietly.
“We’ll be ready.”
Lina rested her head on his shoulder, eyes drifting closed, exhaustion finally pulling her under.
Kael ran his fingers gently through her hair.
“We’ll protect her,” Yara said softly.
“Always,” Aric agreed.
Kael didn’t look away from Lina.
“No,” he whispered.
“I’ll protect her.”
He kissed the top of her head.
“And they’ll have to kill me before they touch what’s mine.”
Lina, half-asleep, breathed out—
“I am yours.”
Kael froze.
Every muscle stilled.
His eyes softened with something fierce and unrestrained.
He whispered into her hair:
“And I am yours.”
The barrier hummed outside, holding the creature at bay.
For a brief moment, in the ruins of the Valerius valley—
There was peace.