Ivy pov

We left Bloodmoon at dawn, but the sky did not look like morning.

There was no sun, no clouds, and no wind. The air felt heavy and still, like the land itself was holding its breath. I stood at the edge of the territory for a long moment, my hand resting on Rick’s shoulder, my eyes tracing the familiar trees one last time.

Rick looked up at me.

“Are we coming back today?” he asked.

I swallowed before answering.

“Yes,” I said. “We are just going to talk.”

Lucien stood a ...