Elara POV
The tremors started an hour later.
Small at first. Just my hands shaking. Easy to hide.
Then they got worse.
My entire body shook. Muscles spasmed. I couldn't stand. Couldn't control it.
Mira found me on the floor. Convulsing. Trying not to scream.
"Elara!" She dropped beside me. Hands on my shoulders. "What's happening?"
"I don't—know—" The words came out broken. Gasping.
She felt my forehead. Cursed. "You're burning up again. But different. This isn't bond fever."
The tremors got worse. My back arched. Pain exploded through every nerve.
"Get Kaelen," I managed.
"He's in council. They won't let me—"
"GET HIM!" I screamed.
She ran.
I was alone. Shaking. Dying. I didn't know which.
Then I felt it. Inside me. My power. The Voidtouch that let me sever bonds.
It was eating me from the inside.
Every bond I'd severed—the vampire I'd turned to dust, the guard whose bond I'd cut accidentally—they'd left pieces behind. Soul-splinters. Fragments of magic that my body couldn't process.
They were tearing me apart.
The door burst open. Kaelen. Finally.
He crossed the room. Dropped beside me. His hands found mine.
The moment he touched me, the tremors eased. Just a little. Enough to breathe.
"What did you do?" he asked. His voice was rough. Scared.
"I didn't—I don't know—"
Mira came back. With Dorian. The vampire looked at me and his expression went dark.
"Soul-splinters," he said. "She's carrying fragments from every severance."
"How do we fix it?" Kaelen demanded.
"You don't." Dorian knelt beside me. Studied my face. "This is the price of Voidtouch. Every time she severs a bond, part of it stays in her. Slowly poisoning her. Slowly tearing her soul apart."
"There has to be a way—"
"There is." Dorian looked at Kaelen. "She stops. No more severances. Ever. Or she dies."
The words hung in the air.
No more severances. No more using my power. No more protecting myself.
"How long?" I managed to ask.
"With rest? The splinters will fade in a few days. But they'll leave scars. Permanent damage to your soul." Dorian's expression was grim. "And if you use your power again before they heal, you'll tear yourself apart. Literally."
Kaelen's grip on my hands tightened. "Then she doesn't use it."
"She may not have a choice," Mira said quietly. She looked at Kaelen. "The council. They're voting tonight. On her execution."
My blood went cold.
"What?"
Kaelen wouldn't meet my eyes. "Another guard's bond was severed. This morning. While you were unconscious. They think you did it."
"I didn't—I swear—"
"I know." His voice was hollow. "But they don't care. Two guards with severed bonds. Both happened near you. They think you're too dangerous."
"So they're going to kill me."
"Not if I can stop them." He finally looked at me. His golden eyes were tortured. "I won't let them touch you."
"Even if it means losing your pack?" I asked quietly.
He didn't answer.
Because we both knew the truth. He couldn't protect me forever. Eventually, he'd have to choose.
His pack or his mate.
Dorian stood. "There's something else you should know. About the severed bonds."
We looked at him.
"They weren't accidents," he said. "Someone's framing you. Using magic to mimic your Voidtouch. Making it look like you're losing control."
"Who?" Kaelen demanded.
"I don't know yet. But whoever it is, they want you dead, Elara. And they're using your own power to make it happen."
The tremors came back. Worse this time.
Kaelen held me. His warmth the only thing keeping me from falling apart.
"We need to find proof," Mira said. "Before sunset. Before the vote."
"How?" I gasped. "I can barely move."
"Then we move for you." Dorian headed for the door. "Stay here. Rest. Let the splinters heal. We'll find whoever's doing this."
He left. Mira followed.
Kaelen and I were alone.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "For all of this. For being—"
"Don't." He cut me off. His voice was fierce. "Don't apologize for existing. Don't apologize for surviving. None of this is your fault."
"But your pack—"
"Can go to hell if they want you dead for something you didn't do." He pulled me closer. Held me against his chest. "You matter, Elara. Not because I chose you. Not because of some prophecy. You matter because you're you. And I'll be damned if I let them forget that."
His words warmed something deep inside me. Something that had been cold for so long.
But they also terrified me.
Because if he chose me over his pack, he'd lose everything.
And I didn't know if I could live with that.
The tremors finally stopped. Exhaustion pulled me under.
The last thing I felt was Kaelen's arms around me. Holding me like I was worth saving.
Even if the world said otherwise.