"Centuries?"
I pulled back slightly from Kael's embrace, looking up at his face.
The afternoon sun made his silver-blue eyes almost glow.
"What do you mean, centuries?" I asked again.
Kael's expression turned serious. He glanced at Erica, who was still playing with the other children across the garden, then back at me.
"We should talk," he mumbled. "There's something about the mate bond you need to know."
"That sounds ominous."
"It's not bad. Just… critical." He took my hand. "Come with me?"
We walked to a quiet corner of the garden, where a stone bench sat beneath an old oak tree. The sound of children's laughter felt distant and blurred here.
Kael sat down and pulled me beside him. For a moment, he just held my hand, his thumb tracing circles on my palm. The mate bond hummed bet
