AYLA'S POV
The first light of dawn barely touched the Frostfang peaks, a pale gray that bled across the snow like cold fire. We moved through it like shadows—silent, bloodied, and no longer prey.
The gorge behind us was a graveyard of broken ice and bodies, the wind carrying the faint metallic tang of blood. Cassia had vanished into the night, but the echo of her laughter and the whisper of the eyeless god still coiled in my veins.
Kael led at the front, his black wolf pacing along the trail with lethal patience. Every step radiated purpose. He wasn't fleeing anymore. He was hunting.
I followed close, Nico perched on my back beneath my cloak, his small hands gripping my shoulders tight. His soft breath tickled my neck, and the weight of his trust pressed heavier than his body.
Rylan moved behind us, silent as the snow, his knives strapped across his chest. He hadn't spoken since the battle. His betrayal still hung in the frozen air like a blade suspended by a thread.
