Smoke.
That was the first thing Seren smelled when her bare feet touched solid ground again—thick, acrid smoke laced with blood and something older. Something metallic and wrong, like rusted magic. Kael landed beside her, his hand still gripping hers, their bond a steady thrum between them.
They had returned.
But this was not the world they had left behind.
The sky was no longer blue. It churned in shades of iron and flame, thunderheads cracking like bones being snapped in half. The ground trembled beneath their feet, the trees warped, ash clinging to their branches like a final warning. Screams echoed from beyond the ridge—human, wolf, witch—it didn’t matter. It was suffering, and it was everywhere.
Seren’s heart dropped into her stomach.
“We were gone too long,” she breathed.
Kael
