We descended just as the sun began to rise over the treetops.
The sky was a wash of rose and gold clouds, the air damp with the scent of the waking forest.
I felt the first threads of warmth brush against my outstretched wings as the pack house appeared through the mist, surrounded by the old trees that had once watched me be born.
As soon as we touched down in the clearing, I folded my wings and landed with precision.
Kael and Lean slipped from my arms and hit the ground on their feet, still stunned, still silent.
My bare feet touched the wet grass.
I closed my eyes.
I called my human form back—
not without effort.
It felt like shedding a layer of fire, a skin made of shadow.
I felt Nox retreat quietly, like mist dissolving at dawn.
My body was mine again.
Lighter. More vulner
