The air didn’t change

Not even after the Herald was driven back.

Through the glade, silence tried to reclaim the space but silence had no hold here now.

Crystal stood at the edge of where the stone had shattered, her mark burning like a sun beneath her skin. Her hands trembled, from restraint. Every instinct screamed to run forward. To fight but something deeper held her back.

Ryder landed hard against a tree trunk, bark cracking behind him. Blood streaked his ...