** Ryder’s POV **

By the time we reach our cabin, the midday sun is high in the sky.

Paige’s fingers stay threaded with mine for the walk home. She doesn’t shake. She doesn’t stumble. If anything, she grows steadier with every step. I don’t miss the way she keeps lifting her face to the sun, soaking up its rays.

But the Twiceborn?... they’re another story.

Nine wolves pad silently behind us, their paws almost soundless on the leaf-littered ground. When Paige slows, they slow. ...