The forest was burning behind them, the sky red like an open wound. Smoke rolled between the ancient pines, thick enough to choke the moonlight. Aurelia stood at the edge of the clearing, her breath slow and steady, her body still trembling from the power she’d nearly burned herself alive to unleash.
Kane stood behind her, silent, arms folded tight across his chest. The faint gold under his skin shimmered every time his heart pounded as though the Sunborn power refused to sleep.
Lysandra paced along the fallen log at the far end of the clearing, muttering curses under her breath while sharpening her blades with too much force. Riven knelt beside the wounded wolves, hands glowing with steady healing light, trying to keep them alive until the next safe shelter.
Aurelia finally spoke, tho
