And then his unfiltered scent reached her, not venom this time but him—warm, deep, primal. It rolled through her senses in a single overwhelming wave.
Her breath broke. Her body swayed.
He caught her.
The bond surged.
Something in her cracked open—light coursing through her, power surging along her veins, racing through her spine, making her gasp and clutch at him. He lowered his face to her, brushing his lips—bare, real lips—against the shell of her jaw as the venom swept deeper into her body, heightening everything.
She trembled violently.
“Easy,” he whispered, his arms steadying her. “Let it happen. You are taking in more than most can dream of.”
Her vision blurred. The chamber spun. She clung to him, overwhelmed by sensation—pleasure, heat, awe, fear, longing—all at once.
Then her knees buckled.
He lifted her effortlessly, one strong arm beneath her legs, the other supporting her back, and carried her into the glowing pool. The water enveloped her in a gentle chill, softening the fever running through her blood. She gasped as it wrapped around her, as his arms kept her anchored against his body.
The teal light swirled around them. Her heart beat against his chest. His hand cradled the back of her head.
Then it struck.
A rush, fast and violent, like the universe pouring itself into her lungs. She felt him—his essence, his power, his memories, his loneliness, his fierce hope—press into her mind with reverent intensity. The bond unfurled like a burning ribbon through her soul, entwining with her until she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began.
She cried out, arching in his arms.
“Morgan…” he murmured, voice thick with emotion, holding her through the storm of sensation.
Light exploded behind her eyes.
Heat flooded her chest.
Her body trembled uncontrollably as she felt herself shift—some internal door opening, some quiet part of her awakening. The ritual reached its peak in a wave that stole her breath and remade her in the same heartbeat.
After that came the stillness, deep and transformative.
She floated against him, trembling, breathless, overwhelmed by the sense of being both herself and something more.
Kyrax lowered his forehead to hers.
The attunement had completed.
The universe washed through her… and left her reborn.
CHAPTER 31
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he held her through the violent aftershocks of the attunement, his strength the only thing keeping her anchored while her body tried to remember how to breathe.
Everything burned.
Everything sang.
Sensation flooded her so sharply she almost cried out—too much, too vivid—but he felt it through the bond, steadied her, held her tighter, his breath brushing her temple in a quiet, grounding rhythm.
Then he pressed a slow, reverent kiss to her forehead.
That was what shattered her.