The battle ended at dawn. The rogues lay in ash, their bodies burned by fire and claw. The shadow had retreated, but its whispers lingered.
Aradia sat with Kael at the river's edge, her body trembling, her cloak damp with blood and snow. He held her, his arms a fortress, his warmth chasing away the cold.
"You will not lose me," he murmured into her hair. "Not in this life. Not in any."
Her tears spilled. "But the shadow said—"
"The shadow lies." His lips brushed her temple, his voice raw with fury and love. "Even if fire takes me, even if death itself steals me, I will find you again. I swear it."
Her heart clenched. Deep inside, she knew he spoke truth. She had seen it in her visions, in her dreams, in the fragments of memory that bled through.
This was not their first life. It would not be their last.
But destiny always demanded a price. And as the wind howled over the snow, Aradia feared what that price would be.