Nathaniel’s point of view It snaps. Not like a rope torn under strain. Not like a clean cut of a blade. No. The bond doesn’t break that gently. It shatters—without warning, without mercy. My breath catches, my chest constricting so suddenly I stagger backward, gripping the edge of the desk to stay upright. “Eva,” I whisper. But she doesn’t answer. I reach for her instinctively, opening the connection with the same spell I’ve used a thousand times to feel her mind. Her warmth. Her chaos. Nothing. Just silence. Cold and absolute. “Eva!” I call again, this time not with magic, but with raw voice. As if shouting through the void might matter. It doesn’t. I can’t feel her. Not even a flicker of her soul. The room tilts. I’ve lived too long. Survived too much. But I’ve never felt this kind of fear. Not even when Rufus cursed our blood. Not even when I buried our mother. Because this? This means she’s somewhere I can’t follow. Yet. I whisper an incantation
Rufus’s point of view She’s gone. I feel the moment the bond shatters, like glass crushed beneath the weight of fate. Britney. The last string tying me to the prophecy. To the plan. To the damn illusion that I might still win. Gone. I stumble against the edge of the stone table, jaw clenched, eyes unfocused. My throat burns with something I don’t recognize. Not grief. Not quite. Fury laced with the bitter tang of failure. The room dims for a moment. Or maybe it’s my vision. My mind racing too fast to hold on. I should’ve known she wasn’t strong enough. I should’ve bound her tighter. Given her more of the potion. More of me. I breathe through my teeth, slow and sharp. The silence in my mind—the absence where she used to echo like a trained songbird—gnaws at me. That empty space is worse than pain. It’s finality. “She’s dead,” I mutter aloud. “Just like the others.” The door creaks open behind me. I don’t turn. I already know who it is. Isabella. And, of course, Nathaniel
Theo’s point of view They’ve all stopped searching. Sonia passed out on the couch in the war room an hour ago. Parker’s downstairs with a bottle of something strong, pretending to read. Marcus is pacing, but slower now—half-broken, like the rest of us. But I’m still here. At the fountain. Where she should be. The water keeps flowing like it didn’t watch her disappear. Like it wasn’t the backdrop for one of the worst moments of my life. Her blood is gone now—someone wiped it away. They said it was “too disturbing.” Too disturbing? Fuck them. She was right here. I close my eyes, pressing my palms to the cold stone. I replay it again. And again. Her face when she looked at me. The tremble in her hands. The way she didn’t cry out when he marked her. She just… stared at me. Like she already knew what was about to happen. I should’ve stopped it. I should’ve dragged her away, told her Aries and i loved her . But I didn’t. I stood there like a coward while she bled. And now the f
Theo’s Point of View The moment the mist disappears, the world stands still. I stare at the empty space in front of me. The space where she was. Where we were. Where everything changed. She’s gone. I blink once. Twice. My wolf howls so loud in my head I nearly fall to my knees. My hands clench into fists as I breathe in the thick, lingering scent of saltwater and fire. Her scent. Fading. Slipping. “No,” I whisper. My voice cracks. “No, no, no—” I stumble forward, toward the fountain where she stood seconds ago. Nothing remains. Not even her footprint. Just water rippling unnaturally. Cold. Still. Parker is the first one to run toward me. “Theo!” he yells. “Where is she? What happened?” “I—” My throat tightens. My wolf is frantic. Violent. Devastated. “She was right there,” Sonia breathes, pale and wide-eyed, searching the clearing like she expects Eva to walk back out of the fog. “She—Aries—he marked her. Britney… she—she died, and then the mist—what the hell was t
Eva’s Point of View The sun shines heavy in the sky, swollen with fate. Its bright light spills over the court like spilled milk, touching the marble stones and the still fountain, painting everything in hues of gold and sorrow. They are all gathered. Faces tense. Eyes wide. Breath held. And then I see him—no, feel him—before he even steps into view. Aries. Theo’s body walks toward me, but it’s not Theo behind the eyes. It’s the storm I met in the dark. The voice that whispered cruel truths in the back of my mind. The one who kissed me like punishment and touched me like I was his only salvation. He comes to me like a shadow, determined and slow. The fake one—Britney—stands beside the marking stone, draped in white. Her eyes burn with triumph. But she’s already lost. She just doesn’t know it yet. He stops in front of me. And I lift my chin. “Come closer,” I whisper. “Just one last time.” He growls under his breath. “You have a death wish, impostor .” “No,” I
Sonia’s point of view It happens too fast. One moment, Theo’s standing in front of Britney, the ceremonial blade in his hand, his body trembling under the weight of magic, tradition, and manipulation. And then—he stops. His eyes flutter. He stumbles back a step, his whole frame going rigid like something inside him just snapped… or woke up. I feel it before I understand it. Aries. The shift is unmistakable—the sudden coldness in Theo’s expression, the commanding set of his jaw, the way his posture changes like a predator returning to its true form. Even the air changes. Crackles. Like lightning crawling under our skin. Theo—no, Aries—turns away from Britney. And walks straight toward Eva. She doesn’t flinch. Her eyes hold his. Steady. Fierce. Broken—but still standing. The silence is unbearable and for the first time i am really scared. He stops inches from her. His chest rising with each breath. He sniffs once. Twice. Then he freezes. His fingers twitch