The Maid the Alphas Couldn't Forget
I kept reaching for the crown, for the hum of silver against my brow, and kept finding nothing.
Kael moved beside me, his breath misting in the cold air. He hadn’t spoken in a long time. The silence between us was thick, heavy, carrying more weight than any words could.
“You’re still reaching for it,” he said finally.
I didn’t pretend not to understand.
“It’s the silence. I can’t get used to it.”
“You will.”
“Will I?”
He looked at me, his obsidian eyes steady.
“Yes. Because you have to.”
---
We stopped at dusk to make camp. The wolves built fires, their flames cutting through the gathering dark. The snow had stopped falling, leaving the world in a muffled, white silence.