Kora’s POV
The smell of ash clung to my skin long after we left the clearing. Even after the smoke settled and the creatures were nothing more than dust, I could still hear their screams in my head. It wasn’t just noise it was like something inside me had recorded every second of it, branding it into my chest.
We didn’t stop to rest. Edward set a brutal pace, his shoulders tense, his jaw locked in that way that told me he was holding his anger in check. Mara walked ahead of us, blades loose at her side, her eyes scanning every shadow.
I kept my focus forward. If I let my thoughts wander, I’d hear Aaron again. And I refused to give him that satisfaction.
But by the time the sky turned bruised with dusk, my body felt heavy, the fire inside me dimming to embers. Every step was harder, eve
