Ivy pov

The silence after Mara died felt wrong. It pressed against my ears, making me feel thick and heavy, like the ruins themselves were holding their breath. One moment she had been there, standing firm, voice steady even as magic tore through the ground. Next, she was gone. No scream. No last words. Just light, heat, and then nothing.

I stood where she had fallen, my feet rooted to the cracked stone. My chest hurt, but no tears came. I kept staring at the ashes scattered across the floor, ...