SCARLETT
Darkness clung to me like tar. For a long moment, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. Then a ragged gasp ripped through my throat. My eyes flew open.
Stone ceilings. Shadows flickering from torches. The scent of ash, ozone, and earth… and three wolves watching me like predators guarding prey.
Kael was crouched low, fire smoldering in his golden eyes, his chest heaving like he’d been running for miles. Darius stood rigid, lightning still sparking along his arms, his jaw tight as if one wrong word would unleash a storm. Rowan was at my side, his calloused hand gripping mine so hard it hurt, grounding me, his green eyes wide with fear he hadn’t bothered to hide.
“Scarlett,” Rowan breathed, pressing his forehead to mine. “You’re alive.”
Kael’s voice cracked with something I’d nev
