Thorne's POV
I perched silently on the crumbling rooftop, the cold night wind tugging at my coat, a familiar chill threading through my veins. From this vantage point, everything was laid bare—the expanse of the gym below where Tavany trained, the shifting shadows clinging to walls, the faint pulse of energy that marked her presence. Tonight, she was more awake than I’d ever seen her. More than just a fledgling. More than the girl who had stumbled into my world months ago. More than the anomaly the Order sought to extinguish. But as much as I wanted to descend and protect her, I knew better.
She had to find her own strength. To become something greater than the fear and chaos that had shaped her. More than a tethered shadow in my life. This was her path—one she had to walk alone.
The ex
