Elena
*****Early Afternoon — The Ruins of Silverfang*****
The ruins still smelled like smoke, blood, and broken magic.
The sun had climbed higher now, burning through the gray clouds, casting pale light over shattered stone and fallen banners. It should have felt like victory.
It didn’t.
Chase was alive.
My mate was standing on his own two feet again, breathing, touching, real.
But something in the world felt… hollow.
Fia sat on a broken pillar wrapped in one of my cloaks. Her shoulders were slumped. Her eyes didn’t glow anymore. The air around her was quiet in a way that made my chest ache.
The Destroyer was gone.
So was the miracle that kept her safe from fate.
I walked to her slowly. “How do you feel?”
She tried to smile. “Like I ran a thousand miles and forgot where I was g
