LOGINRemi Pov“Something worth more than gold?”I repeated Caya's question, staring at her as she stood at the edge of the steep mountain path.She folded her arms. “That's what I said.”I glanced at Nero.He looked just as confused as I felt.Caya sighed. “The dwarfs aren't going to tell me anything because I ask nicely.”Nero reached into one of the pouches attached to his belt and pulled out a few coins.Caya barely glanced at them before shaking her head. “Those won't do.”Nero frowned. “You could at least pretend to consider them.”“They dig gold out of mountains, Nero.”He looked down at the coins in his palm. “Right.”I almost laughed.Almost. My fingers had already found the necklace beneath my clothes.The moment I touched it, the humor disappeared.I pulled the pendant out slowly and let it rest against my palm. The metal was warm from my skin, and for a moment, I forgot about the mountain, the dwarfs, Moonstone, and everything waiting for us beyond those trees.I thought of Isol
Nero Pov ContinuedI looked toward the mountains again.And this time, I saw the smoke. Not from a settlement. From the mountain.The smoke rose in thin gray lines against the darkening sky, and once I noticed it, I couldn't stop seeing the signs around us. There were more tracks than I had first realized, some fresh and some partially covered by dirt. Heavy carts had passed through here repeatedly, leaving deep grooves in the earth. There were footprints everywhere, but most of them were too small to belong to wolves. Caya walked toward one of the impressions and crouched beside it.“Dwarfs,” she said.I looked at her.She pointed toward another track. “Small boots. Heavy soles. And those marks are from mining carts.”I stared toward the mountain. “Mountain thieves.”Caya nodded.Mountain thieves were what wolves called the dwarfs who lived beneath the mountains and sold whatever they managed to pull from the earth. Gold, precious stones, ancient metals, sometimes things that shoul
Nero POVI couldn't stop thinking about Remi's hand.Not the way it had felt against the dying wolf's skin, though I could still remember the sudden heat that had passed through her fingers and into him. What stayed with me was the impossible part. I had watched a man who was seconds from death draw a breath deep enough to fill his lungs after Remi touched him. I had seen the runes on her arm burn beneath her skin, and I had felt the change in the air around her. It wasn't a ability I recognized. It wasn't ordinary wolf strength, and it certainly wasn't anything I had ever seen before. Remi hadn't even known she was doing it. She had reached for a dying stranger because she couldn't stand there and watch him die, and somehow something inside her had answered. For the first time since I had met her, I found myself wondering if I had underestimated exactly who my Luna was.She was stronger than I had thought.Far stronger.And that thought should have comforted me. Instead, it made m
Remi Pov Continued Nero looked at her “You know these people?”“I know the woman who lives there.” She dismounted and walked toward the house.I watched her knock. A moment later, an older woman opened the door.They exchanged a few words and the woman smiled. Then Caya returned carrying a small bundle of food and fresh cloth.She handed the cloth to Nero. “For your hand.”Nero looked at it. “Thank you.”Caya shrugged. “Don't thank me. Just stop bleeding on everything.”Nero smiled. “You worry too much.”“Someone has to.I looked away and there it was again. That familiarity. That easy understanding between them.I knew Caya cared about Nero. I'd known that for a while.But watching it was different. She had clearly been hurt before.I had seen the scars on her body, the way she sometimes went quiet when people mentioned the past, the way she slept lightly and always kept one hand close to a weapon.She had survived something. Maybe more than one thing.And somewhere along the way, N
Remi Pov The Next Day “Hold still.”“I am holding still.”I looked up from the saddle and found Caya tightening the leather strap around Nero's horse.Nero stood beside her with the most patient expression I'd ever seen on his face.I folded my arms. “You know, he has survived perfectly well without you tightening his saddle.”Caya didn't even look at me. “And yet I'm still alive to help him do it.”I rolled my eyes. Nero glanced at me. “You're starting early.”“I haven't said anything.”“You didn't have to.”Caya finally stepped away from his horse and checked the saddle one last time. “Done.”Nero mounted and I watched him settle into the saddle, then glanced at Caya.She had already checked the packs, the waterskins, the food, and every strap on the horses.She had been doing it since dawn.I hated how useful she was and mostly because I couldn't deny it.Caya noticed me staring. “What? You've been staring at me for the last five minutes.”“I was wondering if you ever stop pretend
Remi POVI woke before the sun with Nero's arm wrapped heavily around my waist. His breathing was slow against the back of my neck, warm and steady, and the quiet was so complete that I could hear the wind moving through the trees outside.Then memory returned.Everything we had left behind and everything waiting for us when we returned.I turned carefully in Nero's arms and found him already awake, watching me through the darkness.“You're awake,” I whispered.“I have been for a while.” His thumb moved slowly over my waist. “Watching you.”I smiled faintly. “This is becoming a thing.”“I don't see a reason to stop.”I studied his face. There was something different about him this morning. He looked relaxed, but there was a heaviness behind his eyes that hadn't been there yesterday.I pushed myself up slightly. “Nero.”“I promised you two nights.”My heart gave a small, unexpected flutter.“And I've only given you one.”A smile slowly appeared on my face.“I keep every promise I make







