Talia's POV
"Knock! Knock!"
The sound jolts me out of my thoughts.
I frown, turning toward the door. Who in their right mind is knocking at this hour? Then I realize it's morning already.
The morning air is crisp. The war is behind us now, but its echoes are still in the town-burned buildings waiting to be rebuilt, warriors moving slower than usual as they nurse their wounds, the weight of loss still in the air.
I stretch my arms over my head as I sit up from bed. My body aches, but it's a good kind of pain-the kind that reminds me that I'm alive and that we all survived.
And also, I'm not alone anymore.
I rest my palm against my chest, where the warmth of my bond with Tiara still is. I have a wolf now. My wolf. A part of me I cherish the most. I'm smiling and then suddenly remember
