Page 43 of Elemental Becoming

“But you also said it was like he was fighting something.”

Through the bond, I feel his pulse quicken, like he senses where I’m going.

“I did.”

In the darkness, I can’t see the golden flecks that spark in his eyes when he’s anxious, but I know they are there.

“Then why would he fight grief?” I whisper, scanning his face.

“And why would grief fight back?”

Thane pulls his hands free from mine and takes a step back.

“What are you getting at, Amara?”

There’s a chill in his voice, but it doesn’t stop me. The bond pulses, warmth moving through me in gentle waves. I know I am on the right path.

I take a breath, holding his gaze.

“When your shadows moved just now . . . they didn’t lash out. Just like in your study yesterday.”

I shake my head slightly.

“They don’t feel like dark magics.”

I glance around the balcony, searching for the right word.

“They feel like . . . a caress.”

A beat.

“Like home.”

Thane scoffs, his expression twisting with disgust.

My fingers twitch at my sides, remembering it.

“I know it sounds insane,” I say, bracing myself. “But the shadows answered. To me. To the bond. I felt it—here.”

I tap my breastbone with two fingers.

“That’s not what a curse does, Thane.”

My voice lowers.

“You said your father would . . . what? Go still? Like he was listening? Like he was trying to communicate with you when he was lucid?”

I step closer.

“That’s not someone losing themselves. That’s someone . . . aware.”

My pulse pounds harder.

“Or holding it back.”

My voice softens, but the certainty doesn’t waver.

“What if your father wasn’t breaking? What if he was reacting to something no one else could see?”