SCARLETT
The stranger’s silhouette shimmered at the ridge, silver light spilling from his skin like moon-forged fire. The wind carried his scent a mingling of ancient cedar and something older than time. My triune mark throbbed as if answering a call only it could hear.
Kael shifted first, a protective wall of heat sliding in front of me. “Who are you?” His voice was low, dangerous.
Darius’s storm crackled to life around his arms. “Name yourself.”
Lucien’s shadows thickened, a living mist at our backs. “Or disappear.”
The stranger’s eyes glowed brighter, the same silver that had haunted my dreams. When he spoke, the sound was both a whisper and a command.
“Moonbane. I have crossed lifetimes to find you.”
I stepped around Kael before I even realized I’d moved. “Why? Who are you to me
