An unsettling silence extended, a heavy and suffocating blanket that was only broken by the twins' increasingly stable but still fragile breathing. Larna finally broke the silence, her voice low but filled with undeniable majesty.

“Wolf Doctor can't help them," she declared, her gaze darting between Ezra and Annabelle, every glance as sharp as an eagle's.

“Their problem is not wolf disease. Their stuttering is not due to the weakness of the wolf,”

She paused for a moment, letting her ...