Chapter 15: The Fall
Nova’s POV
We ran hard.
Paws pounding. Breath ripping in and out. Trees flashing past.
Alaric ahead of me, black fur a blur, ears pinned back.
The bond stretched tight between us. His fear poured straight into mine. Sharp. Hot. Real.
Alia snarled in my head.
Faster. I smell smoke. I smell blood. Something is wrong.
I pushed harder. Legs screaming. Lungs on fire. The settlement lights grew brighter. Torches. Too many torches. Moving fast. Shouts on the wind. Not organized. Panicked.
We burst through the last pines.
The north guard tower was leaning. Wood cracked. One side splintered. Something had fallen. Or someone.
Kids screaming.
People punning toward it.
A small body lay crumpled at the base.
Tomas. The boy who climbed everything. The one who always
