---
But suddenly, from behind them, a voice called out. "Aw, I never saw someone cry in happiness before. Sir Kai looks so happy. I wish I had a place in his heart like her."
The words were light, almost wistful. But to Luna's ears, they came with the sting of an old scar being poked with a stick.
Luna froze. Her arms stiffened around Kai, and her smile —still fresh from reunion— began to wither like frost in fire.
Slowly, her eyes turned toward the voice. The wind, which moments ago had carried the warmth of return, now felt colder, sharper. Almost personal.
And there she stood. Azhara the wild savage rabbit.
Halfway down the slope, standing like she had just wandered out of someone else's dream and taken a wrong turn into this one. Her long dark hair danced in the mountain breeze. Her hips tilted at a smug angle. Her arms were crossed beneath her chest in a way that was just a little too casual for someone who had once tried to eliminate Luna and Miryam inside the Rift Gate.
