Kael’s POV
The world came apart in gold and shadow.
Glass burst around him, the air splitting with a scream that wasn’t human. Kael hit the ground in a roll, claws raking through smoke that moved like flesh. The creature darted back, its form half-formed, its eyes two burning slits of white in the dark.
He shifted fully before his feet touched the floor. The wolf tore free in a flash of bone and muscle, jaws snapping, fury given shape. His roar shook the timbers of the longhouse.
Get them out.
It wasn’t a thought, it was instinct. Aria. The baby.
He spun toward the doorway where she’d vanished, the scent of her fear cutting through the haze of blood and ash. The creature lunged again. Kael met it midair, fangs sinking into something that hissed like boiling metal. The taste burned hi
