Ember Frost’s POV

I pushed Lunaris outward. It answered at first, but then it wavered.

The connection didn’t break, but it slipped out of place, no longer responding the way it should have.

The souls still came, just not the way they should have.

They drifted around Malachar in uneven fragments, unstable and out of rhythm, not fully obeying my control.

Malachar tilted his head slightly, watching them without concern, as if they weren’t worth his attention.

“That’s what you ...