Karl’s POV

She was gone.

I stood at the edge of the war table. Her message replayed in my hand. I’m safe. But not alright. Don’t follow. I folded it. Crushed it. Threw it. Too late. I had already started searching.

“Find her,” I ordered. “Quietly. No mistakes.”

Three scouts bowed. I turned to Bastian. “Use the link. Tap into what’s left.” Bastian hesitated. “You’ll burn yourself again.”

“I’m already burned.” He nodded. Left without another word. I pressed fingers to my mark. No pulse. No spark. But I knew she wasn’t gone.

Not like before. This was a different kind of silence. It was Mira’s silence.

And that terrified me.

Cyrus’s POV

I got her message at dawn.

Short. Cold. Guarded. You were wrong about his meaning. That line haunted me more than her absence.

I stood alone in the eastern wing. I hadn’t told Kael. Not yet.

I didn’t want judgment. I wanted her back.

“Mira…” I muttered. “Why him again?”

The younger wolves passed without speaking.

They knew better.

They saw the storm in my silence.

I summoned Lior. Trusted. Loyal.

“Track her,” I said.

Lior blinked. “She said not to.”

“She doesn’t get to vanish without consequence.”

“And if Karl gets to her first?”

I clenched my jaw. “He won’t.”

Karl’s POV

“She’s masking her signature,” Bastian said. “Smart. Old magic.”

“Then get smarter,” I snapped.

“She doesn’t want to be found.”

“I don’t care what she wants.”

Bastian looked at me. “Then why are you so broken?”

I turned away. “Because I was too late once.”

“And you think you’ll be fast enough now?”

“I don’t think. I move.”

He lowered his gaze. “There’s something else.”

“What?”

“Her magic. It’s changed.”

I looked up. “Changed how?”

“It’s not Moon fire. Not Void. Not even Greystone.”

I stepped closer. “Then what is it?”

“It’s something new.”

Cyrus’s POV

Lior returned after dusk.

“She passed through the Silver Paths.”

“That’s suicide,” I muttered.

“No. It’s personal.”

I looked away. “Karl would know that place.”

Lior nodded. “He’s already ahead of us.”

I growled. “Then we cut him off.”

“We don’t even know if she wants you.”

I met Lior’s eyes. “That’s not your decision.”

“Then what’s yours?”

“To bring her home. Or die trying.”

Karl’s POV

We reached the ruins first.

The energy was chaotic.

Bastian knelt. “She stood here. Recently.”

I looked around. My bond itched. Still no connection.

“She opened a sigil,” Bastian said. “Deliberately.”

“To escape?”

“No, to awaken.” I froze. “Awaken what?” Bastian didn’t answer. That’s when I heard the voice. Rowan’s whisper in my skull. You always come late, Karl.

I pressed my hands to my ears. She’s not yours. She never was. I screamed.

Bastian backed away. “She’s deeper than we thought,” he said. I didn’t move. “She’s mine.”

Cyrus’s POV

We arrived an hour later. Too late. The sigil was still warm. Kael stepped forward. “She used forbidden symbols.” I ignored him.

My eyes locked onto the same pattern. Tree. Fire. Blood. “She was scared,” I said. Kael crossed his arms. “Or determined.”

“She’s hurting.”

“She made her choice.” I turned to him. “You don’t stop looking for people just because they run.”

“She didn’t ask you to follow.”

“She didn’t tell me not to care.”

Karl’s POV

I sat by the dying embers of her spell. “She was always more than prophecy,” I whispered. Bastian placed a stone in my hand. “What’s this?” “She left it behind.” I opened it. One word burned across its face. “Don’t wait.” I clenched my fist. “I’m not waiting. I’m coming.”

Cyrus’s POV

I stood beside the shattered altar. Lior placed a tracking sigil. “No luck.” I inhaled. “She’s in the rift.” “You can’t reach her there.” “I have to try.” Kael sighed. “You’ll lose yourself.” “Then I’ll find her in the dark.” Lior nodded. “We follow?”

“We hunt.”

Karl’s POV

Rowan’s voice returned. She doesn’t need you. “I don’t care,” I growled. You’re already too late. “I’ve died for her once. I’ll die again.” So will she. “No.” I gripped the stone again. “She’s still mine.”

Cyrus’s POV

We closed the circle. My bond still flickered. Barely. Mira,” I whispered. “Please.” No answer. But then, one pulse, and faint.

Alive. I looked up. “She’s not gone.” Kael frowned. “How do you know?”

“Because my heart’s still bleeding.” Far beyond the mortal planes, Mira screamed again, and two names left her lips:

“Karl.”

“Cyrus.”