Mason’s POV
Smoke still clung to the air like it didn’t want to leave.
I coughed, forcing myself upright. The ground was black and cracked, the taste of iron heavy on my tongue. Ash curled with every breath, swirling around the ruined clearing.
“Zylia!” My voice tore through the silence. Nothing answered. Not even the echo I prayed for.
Raven stirred beside me, rolling onto her back with a groan. Her cloak was torn, her hair dusted gray. “What… happened?”
I couldn’t answer. My gaze caught on the space where she’d been. The shimmer was gone. No light, no pulse, just emptiness.
And then I saw him.
Killian stood a few feet away, still as stone, staring at the ground where Zylia had vanished. His shoulders were rigid, his jaw locked tight, his eyes burning with something that looked too
