a breathless moment, I lay there on the unfamiliar mattress, the scent of smoke

ame th

thing

ad been slammed with a boulder, and my legs felt like I'd

re aw

ges, like steel scraped over frost

a

shards of winter glass tracking my every movement. Still wea

e resting," h

s. "You say that li

the flicker of a smirk. But it passe

lmost

t," I wh

our stubborn ass across half the mountain range after you refused to st

t the heat i

sk you to c

snapped. "I don't get

irst time he'd said it acknowledged it, like the bond

ing to sit up. Fire lanced down

ped in, catching me

den," I whispered

You're not. But you are my respo

ated how much of me the weak parts, the broken

k. "How long

Flame inside you is... unstable

Lira," I s

t pledged in generations are backing her now. She's promising a wor

orld sound s

dn't

ommander Thorne stepped in, his

wake," h

ere," Kade snapped. "S

a raven. Lira's planning a raid on the Fire Vale. That

one that tells the

. "She wants

e, we lose the only way to understand what

said, before

s arms. "You're

here while my sis

breath. "Fine. But w

our furs. The snow reached our knees. I had to bite bac

ken much since the attack, but when

e girl I met i

ed at h

n. Always looking for someone

nging fas

ahead. "You

y dawn. Smoke already

la

Wolves clashe

. I saw Lira near the chapel, her silver bra

" I sc

tu

sm

ays too lat

pped th

exploded

rd it, hea

he scroll

glowed beneath th

lood

brought

flames parted around

vered over

ction then Kade's,

isi

Lira's body. Blo

dar

mbled

rror c

in. "Ayla

hoked. "I saw

hat the mirror does. It show

t if it'

aze. "Then w

... I wasn't

Nothing could be salvaged. Lira van

tpost, staring at the stars, wis

did

eone el

tst

d. Prin

t you lef

moothly. "Because I know s

ha

ie," he said, crouching beside me. "It mean

"What do

Hidden in the Lost Woods. One that could

cold. "Trans

smi

ur sis

s low, raw. "Ay

was solid my sister, the prophecy, my bond was crumbling beneath my feet. My hands trembled, st

I felt it. A pulse.

ght, electr

ispered. "

as my knees gave way

uld bare

ed. "She's bro

thunder. And far off, in the darkne

d, voice shaking. "Bu

t still

ng as somet