Hope's POV.They’re all talking at once.Malakar’s voice is low and steady, like he’s trying to calm a storm that hasn’t started yet. Lucian paces, running through the timing again like it’ll somehow make this safer. Aarden’s asking questions no one is answering. Emory keeps watching me out of the corner of her eye, like she’s waiting for me to crack. Talon’s arms are crossed, brows drawn, the word “reckless” hanging unsaid between every breath. And Dorian—quiet, focused—just watches us all like he’s already thinking ten steps ahead.I sit in the middle of it, nodding like I’m listening.But I’m not.I’ve heard the plan a hundred times.Get close. Tell him what he wants to hear. Make him believe I’ve turned. Make him believe I want to be with him.It won’t be hard. Not really.I know what he wants. I know how to say the words, how to look at him like I believe them. I’ve lived a lie before—this won’t be the first time I’ve hidden my truth under someone else’s expectations.But still.
Malachai's POV.The air bites at my skin—cold, sharp, and unforgiving. Just the way I like it.Storm clouds choke the sky above the hunter’s camp, a low growl of thunder rolling over the mountains like a warning. But there is no rain yet. No release. Just tension—thick, tight, and suffocating.“Again!” I shout, my voice cracking across the training yard like a whip.The boys—barely old enough to shave—stumble to reset their stances, panting, bleeding, shaking. They don’t complain. I’ve taught them better than that. The first one who does will learn what it means to bleed for real.They swing their weapons, lunging at the dummies I built from straw and bone, wood carved with the snarling faces of wolves. Their hands tremble. Their feet slip in the mud. Pathetic.“You think they’ll go easy on you because your voice hasn’t broken yet?” I bark, stalking between them. “You think they’ll wait until you’re stronger? Smarter? Older?I slam the end of my staff into the ground beside one boy’s
Hope's POV.I run.Branches tear at my arms. Roots rise like claws from the earth, trying to catch me, slow me down. But I don’t stop. I can’t stop.My lungs burn, but it’s nothing compared to the fire inside my chest. Everything hurts. My legs. My ribs. My heart.Tears stream down my face, hot and silent. I don’t even wipe them away. What’s the point?The words echo over and over in my mind like a curse I can’t shake."You don’t belong here.""You’re not one of us.""This is all your fault."I try to breathe, but it’s like I’m drowning in it — grief, shame, guilt. I push harder. Faster.If I run fast enough, maybe I can escape it. Maybe I can leave all of it behind. The heartbreak. The loss. Me.But I’m not fast enough.No matter how far I go, I can still feel it clinging to my skin, in my hair, under my nails. The weight of it, the truth of it — at least the truth Morgana believes.Maybe she’s right. Maybe I don’t belong. Maybe I never did.I stumble, my foot catching on a root, and
Lucian's POV.I stand just behind Talon, the damp scent of freshly turned soil clinging to the air. The funeral is quiet, somber. Every rustle of wind through the trees feels too loud, too alive. I watch as they lower the small, hand-carved coffin into the earth; Morgana’s quiet sobs the only sound that matters.And then —A sharp intake of breath. A subtle shift in the air. I see Morgana freeze. My gaze follows hers — and finds Hope, standing still as stone at the edge of the treeline, barely visible in the dappled shadows. Her face is pale, her shoulders tense with guilt and sorrow. She doesn't move. She just stands there, watching.My stomach drops.I open my mouth, meaning to call out, to stop whatever's coming — but Morgana is already moving.She storms across the clearing with fury in her footsteps, and there's no stopping her. I can feel it — this isn't grief anymore. This is pain given teeth. And when Morgana's voice rings out — accusing, broken, seething — it echos across the
Hope's POV.The sky outside is the color of ash.Muted gray clouds roll low across the treetops, casting the forest in a dull, bruised light. Rain hasn't come yet, but I can smell it in the wind — sharp, earthy, like a promise half-kept. The storm hovers on the edge of the world, holding its breath. So am I.I sit on the edge of the bed, elbows on my knees, my hands limp between them. My clothes are neatly folded beside me — black, of course. As if the color could somehow be enough to match the weight in my chest. As if mourning could be wrapped up in fabric and made to look proper.I haven't slept. Not really. I closed my eyes and drifted in and out of a haze where memories clawed at me from all sides — Morgana’s scream, the boy’s still body, the sting of grief laced into every breath. My own helplessness. My own failure.I press my hands to my face, breathing deep, as if I could inhale enough courage to get through the next hour. The next day. The next forever.He should not be dead
Malakar's POV.Everything feels wrong now. Nothing is the way it's supposed to be...The air around me feels sick, heavy. Suffocating. It clings to me like a disease, making my skin crawl. Life itself feels empty now - cold. Void of that last sliver of light that was still desperately clawing its way out of the darkness.There is no more joy... no more happiness... no more hope.There is only darkness. A vast emptiness that swallows everything it touches.Morgana, my sweet sister - lost her boy. A devastating loss so cruel that I don't wish it on my worst enemy. Something that she will never be able to get back. Stolen from her for no reason other than one man's madness.She's shutting herself off from everyone and everything. Locking herself away in her room. All she does is cry, then scream, then cry some more. My insides twist at the mere thought of her - the misery she must be feeling. The anguish she must be experiencing.I want, desperately, to be there for her. I want to shield