Chapter 11

K axim lay tangled in his sheets, his body drenched in a cold sweat.

His chest rose and fell with uneven breaths. Each exhale was laced with a growl.

Shadows flickered across his closed eyelids as he plunged deeper into the nightmare that gripped him.

In the dream, he stood not on solid ground but high above the earth, suspended in a vast, starry sky.

Wisps of clouds drifted past, illuminated by the full moon that bathed everything in a silvery glow.

The air was thin, tinged with a chill that gnawed at his bones. Far below, the world stretched out in the darkness, but a different kind of shadow loomed at a lofty altitude.

A faint cry pierced the stillness and carried on the wind like a distant echo.

It tugged at something deep within him, compelling him to move.

Without thought, he soared through the firmament, his wings—or were they mere figments of his imagination?—beating with rhythmic potency as he followed the sound.

He found her, not in her true form but in her soul’s silhouette hovering on the edge of a cloud, her contour just visible against the night sky.

Glowing black, insidious kízakan chains bound her, choking her neck. Her face streaked with tears that shimmered like falling stars.

She glanced up as he approached, her amber, deep copper and gold eyes locking with his. A jolt—an arc of intense sensation hit so hard that it almost sent him plummeting from the atmosphere.

‘Help me,’ she whispered, her voice trembling with fear. ‘I can’t escape on my own.’

Kaxim perceived her desperation as if it were his own.

The bond between them tightened, a golden thread linking their souls.

His heart pounded as he raced closer until he was beside her.

He reached out, his hands moving on instinct to the glowing miasma around her neck.

‘I’ll get you out of here,’ he growled. ‘I promise.’

He released a powerful burst of Kaldean k?tu , and the chains fell away, dissolving into mist as his fingers brushed against them.

Liana gasped, staring at him with wide eyes.

‘How did you—?’ she began, but he shook his head.

‘No time. You need to go now.’

He grasped her hand, the warmth of her skin grounding him in the surreal expanse of the sky.

‘But he’ll find me,’ she protested, glancing over her shoulder at the darkened clouds swirling behind her. ‘He always does.’

‘Not this time.’

Kaxim sensed the energy coursing through him, flowing from his body into hers. ‘I’ve given you an íkantation he can’t take from you. An ancient Kaldean protection hex. Use it. Fly.’

She gazed at him with hope and disbelief in her eyes.

The connection between them pulsed, and she nodded, a silent understanding passing through them, even as a mighty hit of gold-moted radiance washed over her.

With an inhale, she spread her ethereal wings and took flight, her figure disappearing into the starry expanse.

He sensed her moving farther away, leading her to safety in the darkness using their mystical tether.

But even as she vanished into the night, he detected the presence of the one who pursued her. The air grew colder, the stars dimming around him.

He perceived the malevolent entity closing in but stood his ground and fired a burst of powerful k?tu at it.

The creature pursuing the kríffin screeched in fury, hissed, and retreated.

Only when pure silence returned and peace with it did Kaxim force himself awake.

With a shuddering breath, the Katánian Commander rose from the shrouding incubus, his eyes snapping open.

The nightmare faded, but the bond he’d forged with the woman lingered, a faint glow in the depths of his soul.

He sighed in relief.

Somewhere, far away, she was free.

A sudden surge of potency coursed through Liana as she whispered her desperate prayer.

It was unlike anything she had ever experienced, a bond unparalleled to any other, one crafted in the innermost of her spirit, linking her to a man who was, for the most part, a stranger to her.

Yet somehow, he didn’t feel foreign.

Their connection was intimate, and she sensed Kaxim’s presence, strength, and unwavering focus on her.

Her heart leaped as she received the Kaldean hex.

Her hands scrabbled at the kízakan bonds that choked her throat, imagining them as fragile strands that she could break with her will.

In an explosion of blinding light and a cry of triumph, she shattered their hold, breaking from K’Aran’s grasp in a burst of speed.

She welcomed the rush of wind beneath her wings as she soared free, her chest pounding with relief and exhilaration.

Behind her came K’Aran’s furious roar; his words carried on the night breeze. ‘You may have escaped this time, Liana, but you cannot run forever. Your destiny is tied to Ilkan, and I will stop at nothing to see you fulfill your purpose. I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth if I must!’

Liana fled through the night sky, her mind racing with the implications of K’Aran’s revelation.

A half-brother, a dark shadow of her blood, now stood as her greatest enemy. His threats hung heavy on her soul, but she refused to let fear consume her.

The air was cool against Liana’s skin, her heart still thundering as she landed back on the crest of the Ilkanisa palace.

Perched on the roof’s edge, she gathered her cloak around her, staring at the star-bathed avenues below.

The city sprawled in front of her, a tapestry of flickering lights and slumbering streets.

In the stillness of the night, she admitted her encounter with K’Aran had shaken her every confidence.

‘I’m not ready,’ she whispered, her words carried away by the gentle breeze. ‘I don’t have the skills they need. I can’t even fight a Shadowing!’

The doubts lurking in the corners of her consciousness now surged to the forefront, its voices insistent and unrelenting.

She had never led an army before or wielded a sword in battle. How could she hope to confront the might of the K?str?l forces to lead her people to victory?

Later that night, Liana tossed and turned in her bed.

The silk sheets were cool to the touch, but her body was heated and restless.

Her mind raced with questions, but every time she closed her eyes, Kaxim’s face appeared.

His strong jawline, the fierce glint in his eyes, the way his muscles tensed beneath his armor—it was all so vivid, so real.

He stood at the center of an íkhara , sweat glistening on his skin as he swung his sword with precision and power.

With a primal rawness that called to her in a way, she couldn’t explain.

He was dangerous, but that only seemed to fuel the fire inside her.

In her soul vision, the Commander turned, locked eyes with her, and neared her, his steps deliberate, predatory. His dark eyes gleamed, and she sensed the pull of him like gravity drawing her in.

He didn’t speak, but the intensity in his gaze said everything.

The heat between them spiked as did, the tautness thick in the air.

Her breath caught as he reached for her, his fingers brushing her cheek with a tenderness that surprised her.

Liana’s heart raced, her entire body tingling with anticipation.

She wanted him—there was no denying it.

The thought of being close to him, of his strength wrapped around her, made her pulse quicken.

She ached for him in a way that both thrilled and terrified her.

But then, just as his lips were about to meet hers, the vision shattered.

Liana woke with a start, her chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. The room was dark, the faint light of the moon casting long shadows across her bed.

The remnants of the dream still clung to her, her body warm and flushed.

Still, the soul bond form of Kaxim lingered in her mind, and she perceived the effects of the Kaldean hex lingering over her.

A thought occurred to her, and she took a deep inhale.

What if the Sāb?r Hawk Commander was who she needed to have her back?

Instinct told her he held the answers to her plight.

Perhaps there was a way out of this shitshow after all.

She mulled the idea, desperate enough to test the theory.

After all, she’d nothing to lose.

She searched for the gold tendril of their spirit bond and sent a neural whisper along it.

Kaxim?