The moment the voice said the purge, something inside me stopped remembering fragments and started remembering pain.
Not scattered impressions. Not incomplete flashes, but pain.
The memory struck with brutal clarity, sharp enough to hollow the breath from my lungs as images surged violently through me without warning. Fire consumed a sky darkened by smoke and ash. Wolves collapsed beneath forces they could not fight. Voices shouted commands through chaos thick with blood and destruction.
And through all of it, one thing remained horrifyingly clear. A seal was being forced shut while something inside it fought to survive. My knees nearly gave out beneath the weight of the memory.
Kael caught me instantly, one arm locking firmly around my waist before I could collapse, his grip tightenin
