Hazel's POV
I flinched away from Kael's outstretched hand, stumbling back a step. The cave walls seemed to close in around us as his expression darkened.
"Sera said we shouldn't touch," I blurted, my voice echoing too loudly in the quiet cave. "Remember? Because of our bond?"
His hand hung in the air between us for a moment before he slowly withdrew it. The rejection rippled across his face, there and gone in an instant, replaced by that familiar mask of indifference. But I'd seen it—that flash of hurt in his eyes.
"Of course," he said, his voice flat. "The witch's warning."
Guilt clawed at my chest. He'd reached out, and I'd recoiled like he was poisonous. Which, according to Seraphina, wasn't entirely wrong. Our bond was dangerous.
"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I didn't mean to—"
"No apology needed." His tone was clipped as he turned away, creating distance between us. "Self-preservation is a natural instinct."
