SKYE'S POV
The deep winter of the northern peaks did not announce itself with a sudden, dramatic blizzard. It crept in like a predator stalking through the high timber, dropping the temperature degree by degree until the very stones of Nighthaven seemed to hum with a brittle, freezing tension.
When I woke, the fire in the hearth had burned down to a pile of glowing, cherry-red embers. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn, but the ambient light bleeding through the thick fabric was a stark, brilliant white.
I shifted on the massive bed, the thick fur blankets rustling around me. The space beside me was empty, the linens already cold, though the faint, sharp scent of pine and dark musk still lingered on the pillow. I sat up, pulling a heavy wool shawl over my shoulders, and hissed as my b
