Owen Greystone's POV

I've been waiting patiently for news on Ember, my heart thumping in my chest, a tight knot of tension I couldn’t shake. Deep down, I knew she couldn’t pull off some grand magic trick, appearing out of thin air under the light like a magician revealing it was all a clever illusion. The hope felt foolish, a childish fantasy I couldn’t indulge.

The pack kept searching along the riverbank, their footsteps heavy with exhaustion. We turned up scattered remnants—pretty ...