Aeon's POV:
The car jolted violently over the pitted road, the world outside blurring into a smear of shadow and light.
I slammed my fists shut, my nails biting so deep into my palms that they drew blood, but I couldn't feel a damn thing.
"Faster!"
I roared at the driver, my voice raspy, raw, and barely human.
When the car finally tore through the night and crested the hill leading to the manor, the sight waiting for me made my breath catch in my throat.
In the distance, where Anna and I were supposed to build our life, a roaring sea of fiery orange and crimson was swallowing everything in sight.
Thick, suffocating smoke rolled into the night sky like a beast, blotting out every trace of the moon and stars.
A scorching wind whipped ash and live embers straight into my face, carried
