Kael POV

They still called me King of Ash and Fire, though the crown no longer fit.

Iron Howl was a temple, now half dream, half ruin.

The air shimmered like molten glass. Wolves slept in fields of light. Even the wind hummed her name.

Ardyn.

Every morning, I woke expecting her scent of warm smoke and moon ash.

Every night, I reached beside me, only to find emptiness that breathed back.

She was gone. And yet, she wasn’t.

Sometimes, when the torches guttered, her voice whispered through ...