The ground was scorched and trembling beneath my boots, the sky split by streaks of violet lightning. Bodies—human, wolf, and beast—littered the field like discarded memories. Smoke clung to the ruins of the citadel behind me, ash turning the snow gray underfoot. I couldn’t feel the wound tearing across my ribs anymore. I couldn’t feel anything.
Only him.
Ryker stumbled through the fog, blood pouring from his side, his shirt shredded. His gaze locked on mine—wild, raw, terrified.
“Nina!” he shouted, stumbling toward me as the air pulsed with unnatural heat. “Don’t move! Something’s—”
Too late.
The sky cracked open.
The moment I stepped into the circle of ancient stones, light burst from the symbols etched into the rock. The ruins vibrated like a heart waking from a long, ancient slee
