The Crescent Mark
The girl didn’t speak again for two days.
They gave her a room in the rebuilt east wing of the stronghold, one with windows facing the woods and thick blankets that still carried the scent of pine and smoke. Raine had chosen it herself. She wanted the child to feel safe. Wanted her to know she wasn’t alone anymore.
But even safety had limits.
The girl didn’t eat. Didn’t cry. Didn’t move unless spoken to. She simply sat with the obsidian shard in her lap, fingers curled protectively around it, as though it were a heartbeat she couldn’t afford to lose.
Raine stood at the doorway, watching her.
She’d tried everything—soft words, small offerings, even shifting into her wolf to show her she wasn’t afraid. But nothing had coaxed the girl to speak again.
Kael appeared bes
