Mag-log inEmmett’s POV Kali flinched. A tiny movement. It was barely noticeable. But in the suffocating silence of the room, it felt loud enough to shake the walls. My eyes locked onto her instantly. And for one dangerous second, something dark stirred inside me. Did she flinch out of guilt? Or... Dogo snarled low in my head. 'Leave my mate alone.' I almost rolled my eyes at him. Kali’s breathing quickened under my stare. Her fingers curled tightly into the fabric of her dress as though she was physically trying to hold herself together. Lilith slowly turned toward her too. “Kali,” she said carefully. “Do you know something about this?” Kali immediately shook her head, too quickly. “N-no. I didn't do anything." Kora made a weak sound from the bed, drawing attention back to herself again. "So it's supposed to be a coincidence that you were in the forest the same time that my energy was drained?" Tears welled up in Kora's eyes. "I always knew you were jealous of me, but to do this
Emmett's POV Kora hit the floor hard. “Kora!” I moved before thinking, catching her just before her head slammed fully against the ground. Her body felt frighteningly cold beneath my hands. Almost ice cold. The complete opposite of Kali yesterday. Something twisted uneasily in my chest. Behind me, Kali gasped softly from beside the window. I glanced up sharply. She looked terrified. Her wide dark eyes were locked onto Kora’s unconscious form, her face drained completely of color. “What the hell…” I muttered. Kora’s breathing came shallow and uneven as I lifted her carefully into my arms. She looked even worse up close. Dark shadows bruised the skin beneath her eyes. Her lips had lost their color entirely. Even the scent coming off her was wrong somehow. Weak. Like her wolf was struggling. “Kali,” I said sharply without looking at her. “Find Ike and tell him to get Lilith. Now." For a second she didn’t move. "Kali now!" I barked. Then she startled like she had snapp
Emmett's POVSteel clashed sharply across the training field.Again.And again.The sound rang through the cool morning and the sound somehow made me feel grounded. I twisted sideways just as Ike’s sword came for my shoulder, the blade barely missing before I countered hard enough to force him back several steps across the dirt.Both of us were drenched in sweat already.Breathing hard.The early sun glinted across the blades while dust swirled around our boots from the force of each strike.Usually training cleared my head.Today it was doing the exact opposite. I still couldn't get the image of the burn mark in the forest off my mind. Our swords collided again with enough force to jar up my arm.“I think Kora has to go,” Ike said suddenly between breaths.I shoved his blade away before circling him slowly. “I agree.”That surprised him slightly.His brow lifted.“But,” I continued, “I can’t send her back until we figure out what’s happening here first.”Ike paused briefly, wiping
Zara's POV Several minutes after pulling into my driveway, I still sat frozen inside the car.The engine had long gone quiet.So had the world around me.But my mind refused to.All I could see was that ring burned into the forest floor. The perfect circled charred into the earth.I stared blankly through the windshield as the image replayed over and over in my head. The blackened earth. The untouched center. The lingering scent of smoke curling through the trees like the forest itself remembered what happened there.And somehow every road led back to Kali.Kali.Sweet nervous Kali who apologized too much and avoided eye contact whenever Kora entered a room.How could someone like her create something so terrifying?More importantly…Why now? If she had this ability all this while, why was it surfacing now?My fingers tightened unconsciously around the steering wheel.Then another thought slammed into me so suddenly my breath caught.Maduro.Did he know?My stomach twisted hard.Was
Zara's POV Sleep never truly came.Not for me anyway.Even after returning from the forest, after the horses were stabled and the servants retreated for the night, my mind refused to quiet down.So I sat there instead.Watching Kali sleep.The room was dim except for the faint glow of moonlight spilling through the curtains. Shadows stretched softly across the floor while the fire in the hearth crackled low and quiet.Kali hadn’t moved much since falling asleep again.She looked peaceful now.Celine had already gone home by the time I returned from the forest with Ike. Honestly, I still wasn’t sure whether that relieved me or made me more anxious.Because now all the questions sat heavily inside my chest with nowhere to go.What really happened in that forest?How did fire appear around Kali?And why did it feel like every answer only made things worse?I rubbed tiredly at my face and glanced toward Kali again.Still asleep.I didn’t want to wake her.But goddess, I needed answers be
Zara's POV My eyes widened in shock. Inside the room, Celine’s voice dropped lower, with a hint of urgency or maybe it was fear. It was too hard to tell over my racing heart. “You started the fire, Kali.” Celine repeated. For a second, my brain simply stopped working. Fire? What fire? And why in goddess’s name would Kali start one? I pressed my ear harder against the door, my pulse suddenly roaring loudly in my ears. Inside, there was rustling from the bed before Kali spoke weakly. “I didn’t do anything,” she whispered. “The fire just appeared.” A chill raced down my spine. “Yeah,” Celine replied immediately. “Because of you." She sighed. "Listen, I'm not exactly sure what happened out there, I just know, one moment a ring of fire appeared around you and the moment you fainted, the fire disappeared.” Silence followed. My heart began racing wildly as my mind screamed one thing over and over again.A ring of fire? I struggled to breathe quietly as I kept listening. Th
Zara's POV "Shh! it's starting!" Suzie squeaked. My heart skipped inside my chest. The forest immediately fell silent except for the soft rustle of leaves under the night wind. We stood gathered in the open square — a wide, flat space surrounded by tall trees that seemed to guard us . The ea
Kali's POV I folded the last of my things — if they could even be called things — into a small canvas bag I’d borrowed from the storage tent. My hands shook slightly, though I told myself it was from exhaustion, not fear. The truth was harder to admit. My heart was hammering because this time, I w
Kali’s POV The world spun as I hit the ground, a cloud of dust rising around me. Pain shot through my ribs, sharp and fiery, but I bit down a groan. My lungs burned as I gasped for breath, every inhale scraping like sandpaper. “Had enough yet?” Vera’s voice carried above me, half mocking, half
Kali’s POV My heart hadn’t stopped pounding since Zara left my room. Every thump echoed in my ears like a war drum, each beat a reminder that I was living on borrowed time. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the faint shimmer of light bleeding in through the curtains, my hands trembling in m







