NORA POV
We marched at dusk.
No banners. No horns. Just silence and the steady rhythm of boots against cracked stone.
The Ruined Court lay beyond the Spinewoods—abandoned for decades, forbidden by most. A place where the old Alpha bloodlines once reigned before they fell to betrayal and madness.
My family’s birthplace.
My inheritance of ash.
Kalen walked beside me, sword strapped to his back, tension leaking from his every step.
“You sure about this?” he asked.
“No.”
“But you’re going anyway.”
I glanced at him.
“There’s something buried there. I think it holds the key to stopping the prophecy.”
“And your father?”
“If I’m right… he’ll be waiting.”
KALEN POV
The closer we got, the stranger the land became.
The air shimmered with leftover magic—curses that had no names. I co
