The memory stone slipped from my fingers and struck Maeve's floor. Mia's smile remained clear behind my closed eyes.
I snatched up the stone and headed back to the pack house. My legs shook the whole way.
The elders had already assembled in the council hall. Mia sat on the penitent's stool, crying as she described Elara's "unprovoked cruelty" and "dark magic" at the ceremony.
"She was never stable," Mia said, pressing a cloth to her eyes. "Her jealousy twisted her. She would have destroyed us all."
"She was keeping us alive."
Every elder turned toward me. Mia stood, one hand reaching out.
"Caleb, I know you're grieving."
I slammed the memory stone onto the oak table. It rolled to a stop in front of the High Elder.
"Watch it."
He activated the stone. The infirmary appeared above th
