~~Raya’s PoV~~
Bertie and I shift and run back through the forest to the castle. This is the first time I have seen Bertie’s wolf, Edgar, and both Avelin and I feel an immediate affection for him. He is thin and uncoordinated, much like Bertie himself, but he has a charming, lopsided smile and an incredibly sweet and childlike sense of wonder as he explores the forest. One second, he’s distracted by a butterfly and the next he is leaping into a puddle, all with so much energy that it makes me feel lighter too. He's completely in the moment, full of joy, and when he circles Avelin, begging her to chase him, she can’t help but give in. He is impossible to resist.
As they run through the trees together, I let my mind wander back over the story we just heard. Perhaps it is different for me b
