The climb to Ashspire Peaks had tested even the strongest in Rose’s group. She had bled. She had burned. Alex had nearly collapsed twice. The winds alone could skin the unprepared. But Jake? Jake didn’t feel the fatigue. He crouched in the shadows above the final ridge, hidden beneath the jutting rocks like a phantom clinging to the edge of the world. His heart thundered—not from fear or exertion, but from fury.
Below, the girl was changing.
No—not changing. Becoming.
Rose knelt at the center of the crumbling stone dais. The ancient runes beneath her feet had long since fractured, leaking ancient energy into the air. Flames and shadow curled around her in equal measure, kissing the sky with tongues of gold and ink. Her body trembled. Her breath came in ragged gasps. But her expression—g
