Peace did not feel like victory.
It felt like standing in the ruins of a burned forest, unsure which roots would grow again.
The Convergence Circle lay scarred behind them, stone still warm where the lunar weapon had struck. Wolves dispersed slowly, wary, shaken, carrying truth like a wound that hadn’t decided whether to heal or fester.
Selene stood alone at the edge of the circle.
The moon was full.
Too full.
She felt it now—not pain, not hunger—but distance. A subtle thinning, like breath leaving a body too slowly to notice until it was gone.
Kael found her there.
“You’re fading,” he said quietly.
She didn’t pretend not to understand. “I knew it would cost something.”
He stepped closer, eyes searching her face. “They never said—”
“They didn’t know,” Selene interrupted. “Or the
