Dravina POV

Tavian, Dashira, Ysolde, and Ansel closed in around me just as the enemy surged again. Instinctively, we formed a tight circle, backs pressed together, our movements synchronized as though guided by a single pulse. Fire scorched the ground around us, the acrid tang of blood clinging to the air, but we held the line. For a heartbeat, survival felt almost possible.

Then it came

Ansel’s scream.

It ripped through the chaos sharper than steel, raw enough to split the roar of ...