RILEY'S POV
The clearing had emptied hours ago. Kael's blood still stained the snow where he'd fallen. The chains were gone, they had dragged away with him to whatever hole Kain called a prison.
I should have felt satisfied. Victorious. Instead, I stood at the edge of camp, staring at nothing, the amulet cold against my chest.
Footsteps behind me.
Soft. Careful. Deliberate. Footsteps.
I didn't turn around. I knew those footsteps.
"Eira."
She emerged from the tree line like a ghost. Her loose silver hair her cheeks were flushed from cold, her magenta eyes burning with something I didn't want to name.
"You shouldn't be here," I said. Flat. "You're a fugitive. If anyone sees you—"
"You didn't kill him."
The words stopped me cold.
I turned.
Eira stood ten feet away, arms crossed, face carved from stone. She looked older than I remembered. Hollowed out.
"Kael." Her voice cracked on his name. "He's still alive. Still in chains. Still breathing. Why?"
I stared at her.
