Moonridge did not breathe the same anymore; the air had changed. It carried something sharp now—like the moment before a storm breaks, when everything goes still, waiting. Three nights, that’s all it would take, three nights until everything burned. Kael stood alone in the council chamber, staring at the empty seat beside him. Aria’s seat. No. He clenched his jaw—Selene’s. The correction felt wrong. Everything felt wrong. The chamber was silent, but his mind wasn’t. It replayed the same moment repeatedly.
“I’m issuing a challenge.” Her eyes, silver and unyielding, “You’re supposed to be dead,” he muttered again, but she wasn’t. The door opened behind him, Selene stepped inside, she moved carefully, measured, every step controlled—but Kael could hear it. “You shouldn’t be alone right now,”
