Selina’s POV
The silence that followed my own voice was a physical blow. It rolled out across the cavern, swallowing the newly restored brilliance of the Northern Anchor, mocking the silver fire still humming beneath my skin. I stood at the precipice of the hollow root, my boots balanced on the absolute edge of a dark chasm that seemed to stretch into eternity.
"Finn!"
The scream tore from my throat, raw and desperate, stripped of all royal authority. It was the cry of a girl left alone in the dark, the cry of a mate whose other half had just vanished from the earth.
Nothing came back. Not an echo, not the scrape of a boot, not the guttural growl of the wolf who had sworn to be my shield. The mountain, now stabilized and breathing with a deep, rhythmic hum of pure quartz power, offered
