Aria’s POV

The night was unnaturally quiet. The air was dense with smoke and filled with the smell of steel and unease. From my window, I saw torchlight across the training grounds, warriors honing their blades, readying themselves for a war that never should have been my responsibility to start.

But it was.

Every clang of metal seemed to echo like a heartbeat, and every distant howl served as a reminder that Damon had drawn blood over me, over an omega who had already brought too much pain ...