Page 73 of The Moonborn's Curse

He stood a few paces away between the trees, the light catching in his icy blue eyes.

Watching. Unmoving. Unapologetic.

She huffed.

Turned back toward the forest.

"Fine."

And kept taking pictures.

Hagan

Hagan had been trying not to think about it.

But it was impossible.

The memory kept coming back, unbidden.

Every time he touched her, during that fight —

Her wrist, her waist, the bare skin of her forearm —

It felt like a spark jumping from her into him.

Not just heat.

Power.

As though something inside her surged through him, sharpening his instincts, flooding his limbs with strength, breath with clarity.

Each time he grappled with her, he felt faster, stronger, more alive than he had ever felt before.

And then—

She was gone.

Carried off in Garrik's arms.

Her blood still fresh on the training mat.

And that surge he'd felt?

It faded.

Slowly.

Like a fire losing air.

Now, only emptiness remained.

Chapter 30

His father hadn't spoken a word to him the day of the fight.

Not during meals. Not in passing.

Not even when Astrid returned from the healer's building with blood on her sleeves and fury in her eyes.

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