The message to the High Council was sent by the fastest hawk in Nightfall’s aviaries. Once it was in the air, a collective breath seemed to release across the entire territory.
The avalanche had delayed the Autumn Festival by two days, but the near-tragedy only made the pack more desperate to celebrate life. The storm had passed, leaving the mountains blanketed in pristine, glittering white snow under a sky so clear it looked like shattered glass.
In Aria’s room, the atmosphere was a mix of frantic energy and deep, profound reverence.
"Hold still, or I swear I will pin this to your actual skin," Lena muttered around a mouthful of silver hairpins.
Aria stood in the center of the room, her hands trembling slightly as she looked at her reflection in the tall, frost-rimmed mirror. She bare
