Chapter 13 · He Remembers Her Dying

Nora woke up to a hand on her throat.

Not choking. Just there. Warm. Heavy. The kind of pressure that said *don't move*.

She didn't.

Kael was crouched beside the cot, his face inches from hers. His eyes were locked on hers, dark and sharp, and there was something in them she hadn't seen before. Not anger. Not suspicion.

Fear.

"You died," he said.

His voice was flat. Too flat. Like he was holding something down.

Nora's pulse kicked up. She could feel it under his palm.

"I'm—" She stopped. Her throat was dry. "I'm here."

"You died in front of me." His thumb moved, just a fraction, pressing against the hollow of her throat. "Thirty seconds ago. I watched it happen."

She didn't breathe.

He leaned in closer. His breath was warm against her cheek. "So tell me how the hell you're still breathing."

Nora's mind spun. The reset. He remembered. He *remembered*.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

His grip tightened. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to remind her he could.

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not—"

"You took a crossbow bolt through the chest." His voice didn't rise.