The air burned with a copper tang I hadn't tasted in years. Not blood something older, heavier. It was the smell of ancient fire and scorched roots, the kind that stayed long after the forest forgot what had been burned. My wolf stiffened inside me, fur bristling.

Reyna didn't know what was about to hit her.

Jez-or rather, the thing inside Jez-stood across from her with eyes as black as the void. When she lifted her hand, flame licked her fingers though no spark had been struck. The forest bent toward her, every tree groaning like they remembered her name.

Saelwyn.

I hadn't heard that name in a decade. I never thought I'd hear it again.

"Reyna-" I lunged forward, shoving her behind me. Her cry of protest burned my ears, but I didn't flinch. "Stay down!"

"What are you-"

"Shut up," I snapped, not because she deserved it, but because hesitation meant death.

Jez's lips curved into a smile that wasn't hers. It was sharper, crueler. "Ah," she purred, her voice layered, Jez's tone folded under something deeper. "The rogue remembers me."

I bared my teeth. "I don't forget nightmares."

The smile widened. Fire coiled from her fingers and raced into the dirt, cutting a burning circle around us. Trees hissed as their roots smoldered. Reyna coughed against the smoke.

I planted myself between them, claws itching under my skin. My wolf pushed to surface, but I forced control. I couldn't tear into Jez, not with Reyna watching, not with the sick hope in her eyes that Jez could still be saved.

Saelwyn tilted her head, eyes rolling over Reyna like a predator admiring a meal. "This one's fire is untested. Shall I break her first, Lazric? Or would you prefer I use her to break you?"

Reyna shoved at my arm. "Lazric, I can fight-"

"No." My voice was steel. "You'll die."

Her eyes flashed, furious. "She's my friend."

"She's not your friend right now."

Saelwyn's laugh split the smoke. "Touching. He guards you like a wolf guards his mate. What will you do when she begs you to kill me?"

Flame ripped from her palm. I shoved Reyna flat to the ground and took the hit across my arm. Pain seared through flesh, claws bursting halfway as my wolf fought to heal faster than the fire consumed. The stench of charred skin choked me.

Reyna gasped. "Lazric-"

"I've had worse," I growled, though the burn crawled to the bone.

Saelwyn advanced, Jez's body fluid and unnatural, every step making the forest tremble. I knew that walk. I'd seen it before, in the wars no one lived to talk about. She wasn't just power. She was hunger wrapped in skin.

Reyna scrambled up, fists clenched. "Jez, I know you can hear me! Fight her!"

The black eyes flickered. For one heartbeat, Jez's voice broke through. "Reyna-"

Then Saelwyn slammed her hand against her temple, snarling. "Quiet, child."

My gut twisted. Jez was still inside, clawing to surface. That made this worse. If she were gone, I could kill Saelwyn and be done. But Jez was alive in there, drowning.

Reyna took a step forward, reckless as always. "If Jez is still in there, then we can pull her back. Don't you dare tell me to stop."

I caught her wrist. "You don't know what she is. You don't understand what Saelwyn does."

"Then tell me!" Reyna hissed, fire in her eyes.

Saelwyn spread her arms, laughing as roots cracked open around her feet. Shadows slithered like snakes across the ground. "Yes, tell her, Lazric. Tell her what happened the last time you tried to kill me."

The world tilted. For a moment, I saw not the forest but another battlefield-years ago, moons ago. Wolves burning alive. The stench of fur and blood and screams. My hand shaking around a blade as Saelwyn's fire tore through my pack.

I hadn't saved them. I hadn't stopped her.

My jaw locked. "She's death, Reyna. She doesn't stop until everything burns."

Reyna's hand squeezed mine-firm, steady. "Then we don't let her win this time."

Something cracked in my chest at her stubbornness. She had no idea what she was asking me. No one beat Saelwyn. No one survived her fire.

And yet...

I let go of Reyna's wrist. My claws slid fully out, gleaming. "Stay behind me."

Saelwyn's smile turned venomous. "You're still too cowardly to finish me, Lazric. Shall I remind you what happens when you hesitate?"

Flame shot outward, spiraling into a whip. She lashed it across the clearing. I deflected with my claws, but the fire clung like tar. It hissed, eating flesh, and my wolf howled inside.

Reyna darted to the side, grabbing a rock, hurling it straight at Jez's-Saelwyn's-head. It cracked against her skull. Jez's eyes flickered again, wild, panicked.

"Reyna..." Jez's voice gasped. "Help me-"

Saelwyn shrieked, and the ground split open beneath Reyna's feet. Roots shot up like iron chains, wrapping her legs, her waist, her throat. Fire coursed through them, a cage of living flame.

"No!" I roared.

Reyna screamed, thrashing, the smell of burning skin filling the air.

Saelwyn's voice dripped triumph. "Choose, wolf. Save your little human-" she dragged Jez's hand across her chest, "-or kill me now and lose her forever."

The fire flared brighter, licking closer to Reyna's face.

I lunged forward, claws raised, every muscle screaming with the choice. My wolf tore inside me, demanding blood, demanding survival. But my heart-traitorous thing-beat only for the girl trapped in the fire.

I couldn't do both.

Not this time.