Rhyker’s POV
A scream tore through the night, shattering the stillness of the forest. My heart stuttered.
It was Lyra. Her pain—a raw, desperate cry—reached me across the miles, filling me with a terror I hadn’t felt in years. She was close, but too far. Too far for me to reach her in time.
My body moved on instinct, legs pumping beneath me, feet slapping against the earth as I pushed myself harder.
I felt the blood rushing in my ears, drowning out the world. All that mattered was her. I was already too late to stop whatever it was she was enduring—but I wouldn’t let her die alone.
The shadows around me flickered, creeping at the edges of my vision. Colin. He knew.
He heard it too, just like I did. He was coming. I felt it—the press of his magic, a sickly pull against my skin as I
