The moon was fully out, when Ivy left the palace walls. The air was cold, the woods silent except for the faint rustle of leaves beneath her steps. Her heart raced, each beat echoing through her chest as she moved deeper into the shadows. Something inside her had known she would find him here. It was the same pull she felt as a child before everything went wrong.

The forest opened into a clearing. The air smelled faintly of smoke and iron. She saw him then, Liam, standing beside a dying fire. ...