Page 65 of Elemental Becoming

I nudge him lightly with my elbow, keeping my tone easy, teasing without pushing.

“Should I be worried, or is this just your usual broody-silence kind of thing?”

His expression doesn’t change right away, but something flickers through the bond. Amusement?

“Are you okay?” I ask, quieter this time.

The teasing lingers, but only just. Because I see it—the way his fingers flex at his sides, the way his smoke-gray eyes hold too much behind them.

The bond hums, confirming something he hasn’t said.

I don’t push. Not yet. I wait.

Thane exhales, his jaw shifting slightly before he answers.

“I don’t know.”

His voice is low, controlled. But there’s weight in it.

He keeps his gaze ahead, arms loose at his sides, but the bond gives him away. I feel it—the pull of his emotions, relief and love tangled with guilt and regret.

“It wasn’t what I expected,” he admits after a pause. “I told myself for years that he was gone. That whatever was left wasn’t really him anymore . . . ”

He trails off, shaking his head.

“Then he spoke.” A quiet breath of a laugh slips out, empty of humor. “And now I don’t know what’s worse. Thinking he was lost all this time . . . or realizing I’d been wrong for so long.”

His hand tightens once before easing again.

“Maybe he’s been fighting this thing the whole time. And I left him there to do it alone.”

The words hang between us.

I twist the fabric of my dress between my fingers, feeling everything he doesn’t say. Everything the bond carries anyway.

A sudden conviction rushes through me, so strong it nearly takes my breath. It isn’t just a thought—it’s an unshakable truth settling deep.

The bond answers, a sharp pulse between us. Thane feels it. I see it in the way he turns, something breaking through the weight of everything else.

“Amara?”

I meet his gaze, my heart pounding, something fierce rising in my chest.

“Then we fight with him.” My words come without hesitation. “And we bring him back.”

The air between us feels charged, my conviction settling into something real.

Thane holds my gaze, studying me as the weight of it sinks in. I see the moment it takes. He exhales, sharp. His hand flexes at his side before closing into a firm fist.

We walk in silence for a few steps, Lord Eryndor’s words still pressing in. My mind turns over them—fragments of meaning that don’t quite fit together.

Then I catch Thane looking at me, a flicker of somethinglighter in his eyes.

I narrow my eyes. “What?”

His lips twitch. “I’m not used to having someone at my side . . . my lady.”

Heat rises in my cheeks. Before I can answer, he offers his arm. I take it.