Quinn’s POV
The silence after the Sovereign’s departure was heavy, deceptive—like the lull before a storm. Quinn held Rowan against his chest, his heart still pounding from what he had just witnessed. His pup was trembling, his small body radiating residual heat, his chest glowing faintly where Sovereign fire had fused with his own.
Quinn pressed his lips to Rowan’s damp hair, his voice raw. “You did it. You held on.”
Rowan clutched his shirt, his words barely audible. “I thought I was gonna… break.”
“You didn’t.” Quinn pulled him tighter, forcing strength into his tone even as fear twisted in his gut. “You’re still here. Still you.”
But the words had barely left his mouth when the ground groaned beneath them.
The cracks that had quieted after the Sovereign’s vanishing began to widen
