My wolf stirs. Finally, Just a whisper of presence, weak and confused, like she’s waking from a deep sleep.
Fight, she whimpers. Something’s wrong. Fight it.
I will try. God, I will try. I throw everything I have against the invisible chains holding me, every scrap of will, every desperate fragment of self.
Nothing changes. My feet keep moving, carrying me deeper into the forest. Away from the palace. Away from Daciana’s body. Away from everything.
The trees thin gradually. The dense forest gives way to scattered groves, then to open ground. An estate house rises before me in the distance, all stone and sharp angles. Even through the fog, even with my thoughts scattered and slow, I recognize it.
I’ve seen this place before. In dreams. In nightmares.
No. No, anywhere but here. Please,
