Kora’s POV
The journey north was relentless. The trees grew denser, the paths narrower, and the air colder the farther we climbed. The forest whispered around us, and I couldn’t tell whether it was the wind or something older watching from the shadows.
For three days, we didn’t rest long enough to feel human. Edward was all sharp focus and tension, his eyes scanning every ridge and hollow as if danger would step out of the mist at any moment. He barely slept, and when he did, it was with one hand always near his blade.
The fire in me had grown quieter—no longer wild and angry, but simmering, patient, as if waiting for a cue. I could feel it under my skin, tracing patterns through my veins, pulsing in rhythm with the earth beneath my feet.
I hated it.
Every flicker of warmth felt like
