Nymera’s POV
The battlefield stank of ash and blood.
The last embers of the portal’s collapse flickered out, leaving nothing behind but a jagged scar on the earth.
For a long time, no one moved.
The surviving warriors—MoonBlood and CrescentMoon—stood among the wreckage, panting, weapons dripping black ichor.
Kaelith helped me to my feet, his hand rough but steady.
"You good?" he asked, scanning my shredded clothes and bloodied skin.
"Define good," I croaked.
His mouth twisted into something halfway between a smile and a grimace.
Dain stood a few paces away, staring at the place where Astra had vanished.
His body still glowed faintly with the aftershocks of his unleashed power, but his face was unreadable.
"You saved us," Kaelith said quietly, following my gaze.
"No," I said. "W
