Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
There were countless words that could be used to describe what surged through Kael at that moment.
Anger.
Rage.
Hatred.
Loathing.
Yet somehow all of them felt woefully inadequate compared to the all-consuming wrath flooding his veins the instant his eyes landed upon someone who should've died centuries ago.
It had been that long.
For years, the memory had remained fresh by his own choice. A wound he refused to allow to heal because forgetting felt too much like absolution. Because if he stopped remembering, then perhaps he would also stop remembering how badly he had failed.
Recently, however...
Things had changed drastically. He'd been given a new lease on life, one that made him look forward to waking up each day. Hoping—no, practically praying it wouldn't be the last.
With Riley's return, the scar he'd deliberately kept open all those years had finally begun to close.
Or at least, that was what Kael had believed.
Until now.
