|| Lilac’s POV ||

The sunset bled across the sky in streaks of crimson and gold, but the beauty of it did nothing to ease the restless dread coiling in my chest. I sat by the window, fingers gripping the sill until my knuckles turned white.

Where was Alaric?

He should have been back by now. He only went to see Elias. Did something have happened?

A cold whisper of unease slithered down my spine. Runa, my missing wolf, howled faintly in the depths of my mind— a ...