SCARLETT'S POV
The first sunrise after the rift was almost too beautiful to look at.
Light spilled across the Blackridge peaks in slow rivers of gold, turning every frozen ledge to molten glass. The storm that had battered us for days was gone; the air itself felt rinsed clean. Below, the valley stretched wide and green, as if the earth had taken one deep breath after centuries of holding it.
I stood on the high ridge with Kael, Darius, and Lucien, the triune mark on my back warm but quiet. Their presence steadied me the heartbeat of fire, storm, and shadow threaded through my own.
For a long time none of us spoke.
Kael was the first to break the silence. “It’s too calm,” he said, arms crossed, amber eyes scanning the valley. “The rift may be gone, but danger doesn’t vanish that easil
