"Can you help us keep her safe, even if we have to protect her from herself?"
Heila's anxious cry tore at Isabell's heart, tearing apart the image she'd started to rebuild in her mind of Ashlynn as a rising, powerful witch. After seeing her deal with the traitor, Darragh, last night, Isabell had been convinced that Ashlynn carried heavy scars, but that she was healing from her wounds.
War was a crucible, and people either emerged from it stronger or broken. Though if Isabell was honest with herself, even the ones who grew stronger lost things in the process… things that could never be recovered. The strength they gained from surviving their trials was never free.
