Matilda POV

The cabin walls had closed the moment the door had closed. It was very silent, broken only by the crackle of the fire. I sat on the side of the bed with my knees drawn up, and my hands trembling in my lap. I had an empty chest, and this emptiness was eating me up, so that I could hardly draw breath.

I closed my eyes.

“Aura,” I whispered. “Please… answer me.”

The name slipped down the silence like a rock into a bottomless pit. I waited till I could feel the ...