KELLY THOMPSON'S POV

The moon hung low, a heavy silver orb in the ink-black sky as I stood beside Jason on the balcony, our shoulders just touching. The cool night air carried with it the faint scent of pine and the distant howl of a lone wolf – a mournful sound that seemed to echo the hollow space Elara Windrider and Gamma Thorne had left behind.

"Elara's wisdom... Thorne's strength," I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper, as if speaking louder might shatter the fragile peace of the ...