Come home, Little Moon.
The voice faded.
But the howls didn't.
They drifted across the valley beyond Blackwood Enterprises—distant, mournful, impossible.
I stood among shattered glass and emergency vehicles, staring towards mountains hidden behind the approaching dawn.
My pendant still glowed faintly beneath my fingers.
Kael stepped beside me.
"You heard something."
It wasn't a question.
I nodded.
"Howls."
His expression sharpened.
"From where?"
I looked north.
"Moonlight."
Kael followed my gaze.
"That territory has been abandoned for five years."
"I know."
Another howl rolled across the valley.
This time Kael stiffened.
"You heard that one."
"Yes."
Clarissa rose inside me.
"They're calling us."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
That was becoming a frustratingly common answe
