Damien:
I stood at the balcony like a statue and watched her go.
I watched her until she had vanished into a single moving speck at the edge of the forest.
The Elder murmured behind me, careful: "Lycan King,should we,there's still time, we could bring her back."
I lifted a hand. "No. Let her go."
The wind was cold.
I closed my eyes. I had not slept for days. I was hollowed-out tired.
For one suspended moment, I was back in the night of that hunting challenge.
I had known about Kael's idiotic wager long before it was made. That was why I had appeared, contrary to every habit of mine, at that pointless little gathering. That was why I had,for the first time in my life,let myself be drawn into a bet with my unbearable younger brother.
I could not stand by and let her, my fool girl wh
