~ALARIC'S POV~
Sleep refused me--every time I closed my eyes, I saw the flames.
The way they ate through the walls and silence that followed. The threads snapping, scent of burnt ash where her heartbeat used to be.
I sat on the bed, jaw locked, hands stained with dried blood from another shattered glass. My wolf had stopped howling and that was worse than the screaming.
At least when he raged, I could pretend she was still tethered to us. That there was still something to protect.
But now... he was silent, grieving.
Tazira hadn't left the infirmary since the fire. The healers hovered around her like she might snap in half if someone raised their voice.
She'd cried, once. Then demanded her favorite silks, her tea brewed a certain way, and new guards posted outside her door. No one
