Soren didn't blink. Luara's survival was impossible. No wolf had ever survived that fall, and yet there she was, alive, active, challenging everything he believed about natural order. Cold squeezed his chest, mixing fear and fury, and he realized he was alone in his suspicion.

He breathed deep, controlling every muscle. The other Council members didn't need to know. Only he saw the absurdity, only he felt the urgency to understand. Why had the goddess sent her back? For what reason had ...