Selene’s POV
I left the monastery with the obsidian dagger wrapped in cloth, hidden inside my cloak like a secret too dangerous to name.
It was light in my hand.
Lighter than it should’ve been.
And that terrified me more than anything.
Kade waited on the slope just beyond the gates, watching the gray clouds roll over the mountains. He didn’t ask what she said.
He didn’t have to.
He saw it in my face.
“How long do we have?” he asked.
I looked down at my arm.
The Spiral scar wasn’t glowing.
But it was warm.
“Not long.”
He nodded once.
Then we started walking.
The wind picked up as we traveled back toward Hollowfang. Every step south felt heavier. Like the land itself didn’t want me to return.
Like it remembered what I’d done.
What I’d become.
Kade spoke only once.
“You sho
