The Hidden Hybrid’s Redemption
A sound echoed across the basin—a single, resonant, bass note that vibrated directly through the marrow of our spines.
It was not a call to war. It was a summons.
The fresh lead inlay in our brand-new boundary stone violently cracked from top to bottom. The gold crest we had just poured dissolved into fine, dull gray dust, blowing away in the gale.
Then, my hybrid core gave a sudden, agonizing leap.
My knees buckled, and I would have hit the flagstones if Killian hadn't caught me instantly, his broad arm locking around my waist. A fresh, hot line of crimson blood welled from my nose, dripping onto the white snow below.