The morning air was crisp with the faint bite of autumn, the kind that slipped easily beneath clothing and clung to skin. I wrapped my cardigan tighter as Amara’s hand brushed my arm, steadying me. She sat in the driver seat as she drove us toward the training grounds. Irina sat beside her, and I in the back, her gaze fixed outside the window where the forest rolled past in shades of gold and green.
None of us said much, but I knew we were all thinking about the same thing: Klaus and the others. The bond tugged at me like an ache, reminding me he was alive but far, so far, buried in the silence of Europe’s mountains. I forced myself not to drown in that hollow pull. This morning, I needed to be Luna-in-training. I needed to at least try.
The car slowed as we turned past the gates of the
