Wolf Realm:
One hour.
Sixty minutes.
Three thousand, six hundred seconds.
To most people, it was nothing.
To the Wolf Realm, it had become the longest hour any of them in the chamber had ever endured. The clearing surrounding the ancient basin remained frozen in complete silence.
No one had left.
No one wanted to be the person who wasn't there when Aire returned.
The silver glow that had erupted from the basin an hour earlier had faded almost completely. Only faint ribbons of light still drifted beneath the water, disappearing almost as quickly as they appeared.
The portal had closed.
The ritual had succeeded.
The witches had sworn it.
So...
Where was she?
Not a single person could answer.
Nate still knelt beside the basin exactly where he'd fallen after Alaric reached Aire through the bond.
His hand rested on the smooth stone rim. He hadn't moved, or spoken a word for an hour now.
