Nora's POV

The air burns my lungs. Every breath tastes like sulfur and ash. Like standing too close to a fire that's been burning for a thousand years.

My skin prickles with heat. Sweat soaks through my clothes immediately. Evaporates just as fast.

Blackwood Volcano looms ahead. Dark. Massive. Ancient beyond measure. The peak glows red against the dark sky. Smoke pours from vents in the rock. The ground trembles beneath our feet.

The ...