Zayne’s POV
Night didn’t fall all at once. It crept in slowly, like it was afraid of what it might find when the light was gone.
I stood at the edge of the ruined courtyard, watching the sky darken shade by shade. The war had taken the noise with it.
At that moment. No shouting. No orders. No screams. It was just wind moving through broken stone and the distant crackle of dying fires. And Aurora.
She sat on the steps behind me, her knees pulled to her chest, staring at the stars as if they might give her answers.
She hadn’t spoken in a long time. Not since Jake was dragged away. Not since the Moon climbed higher and heavier in the sky.
This was the first real night since everything ended.
Or maybe since everything truly began.
I turned toward her, my chest tight. I had rehearsed
