Cassian POV
For a long moment, I stared down at the delicate piece of jewelry resting in my palm, its significance crashing into me with the force of a tidal wave. It was hers.
There was no mistaking it.
A surge of emotion rose in my chest relief, disbelief, and a fierce determination. She had been here.
She was still out there.
This wasn’t just a clue. It was hope in tangible form.
“She stopped to rest,” I murmured, the words barely more than breath as the meaning began to take shape. She was on the move, yes but not fleeing endlessly. She’d paused. That told me something.
It gave me a direction.
A chance.
I lifted my eyes to Merritt, my voice calm but charged with intent.
“This is something. I’ll reach out to Alpha Malrikarion see if any of the southern packs under his command
