27

The air still crackled with the aftershock of violence, thick with the scent of blood, burning wood, and the faint, musky odor of fur. I blinked slowly, my lashes heavy with ash, heart racing as I took in the scene. My father’s men—gone. Just like that. Not even a damn trace. It was like they’d vanished into dust, carried off by the wind.

But that wasn’t what made my breath catch in my throat.

It was the way Ethan stood there—chest heaving, his body marred with cuts and blood that wasn’t his, his glowing eyes scanning the horizon like he still didn’t trust it was over. Cliff hovered beside him, no longer in his wolf form, but shirtless, barefoot, skin streaked with dirt and ash. Kagura, still silver-haired and fierce even in human form, paced nearby, her arms crossed tight over her chest, her jaw clenched like she was trying not to scream.

My legs buckled.

I dropped to my knees in the cold grass, fingers digging into the scorched earth. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. But the sou