Iowyn
I led Savannah through the labyrinthine corridors of the Winter Palace, away from prying eyes and listening ears. The shadow within her had grown stronger since we'd entered the throne room—I could feel it straining against our bond, testing the boundaries I'd hastily constructed when I'd first entered her mindscape.
Two hours until midnight. Two hours until her eighteenth birthday. Two hours until the Shadow Wolf fully awakened and tried to consume her from within.
"You lied to me." Her voice cut through the silence as we descended a spiral staircase carved from black ice. "You said the bond would hold it back."
"I said it would give us time." My grip tightened on her hand, feeling the slight tremor running through her. "Not that it was a permanent solution."
"What else haven't
