AYLA'S POV - TWO WEEKS LATER
Peace was harder than war.
With Cassia dead and Maric imprisoned, the kingdom should have felt secure. Instead, it felt fragile—like a vase glued back together, beautiful but cracked.
I stood on the castle balcony, watching the sun set over the capital. Below, wolves moved through the streets freely for the first time in months. Markets bustled. Children played. Life returned.
But something was missing.
"You're brooding again," Rylan's ghost said, materializing beside me.
"I'm thinking."
"Same thing." He leaned against the railing. "What's troubling you, Luna?"
"Kael." The admission came easier now. "It's been two weeks since Sorcha took his memory. He's functional, loyal, perfect in every way. But he's not... there."
"Have you tried—"
