The journey back to Veilwood was quiet.
Evelyn sat in the passenger seat of the SUV, her gaze fixed on the frozen landscape drifting past the window. The Binding Scale rested in her lap, its purple glow completely extinguished, now just a cold, heavy piece of obsidian.
The dragon had been left behind in the valley, sleeping peacefully under the moon. She had no doubt it would wake—and when it did, it would be free for the first time in three centuries.
But freedom was a fragile thing. And Lilith’s reach was long.
As the convoy rounded a bend in the mountain pass, a figure stepped into the middle of the road.
Lucian’s hand shot out, signaling the driver to stop. The SUV skidded to a halt, and the guards immediately raised their weapons.
But the figure did not attack.
It was a young w
