Kora’s POV
The morning after the battle was too quiet. The quiet that pressed against your chest until you could hardly breathe.
Mist hung low over the valley, shrouding what remained of the once-green Vale. The air smelled of wet ash and burned soil, and when I looked around, I barely recognized the land that had sheltered us. Trees stood like black skeletons. The river that had once sung to me was now a slow trickle of smoke and mud.
Edward stood a few paces ahead, his back to me. His jacket was gone, his shirt torn, his skin marked with streaks of black soot. The rising sun caught the edge of his hair, making him look both alive and haunted.
I wanted to go to him, to touch him, to remind myself that we were still here. But for a while, I just watched.
When I finally found my voice,
