The battlefield was finally quiet.
Not silent—never silent. Bodies settling into stillness, armor clattering as healers checked for lingering breath, soft keening from those who had lost someone—but quiet enough that the valley itself seemed to exhale.
And at the center of it all lay Bree.
She was still in her celestial form, though dimmer now—fur no longer blinding white but muted, like moonlight seen through fog. Her massive chest rose and fell unevenly, each breath a shudder. Silver blood soaked the earth beneath her, a gleaming pool that sparkled faintly in the starlight.
Dustin knelt beside her, hands shaking.
“Crystal,” he whispered, voice raw. “Come back to me. Please.”
He didn’t care that his own fur was matted with blood. He didn’t care that one of his ribs was cracked or th
