Hope's POV.
The scout's words echo in my ears like a death knell.
"They're here! Malachai! Hunters! They found us!"
For one long, breathless moment, I can't move. The world seems to narrow, my heart thudding so loud that it drains out everything else. Cold washes through my chest like ice water.
No. Not now. Not like this.
Panic claws at my throat. Malakar is gone. He is GONE. Out in the woods chasing shadows while the real threat had come crashing down at our doorstep. I press a hand to my chest, as if I could still feel the steady thump of his heart from our last embrace.
God, I wish he was here.
For a split second, just one, I see myself back in my apartment. Warm. Safe. Quiet. My books, my couch, the hum of traffic below my window. I could have stayed there. I should have stayed
