The sun was a liar.
It hung in the morning sky, a perfect, pale gold disc that should have signaled the end of the nightmare. It cast long, dancing shadows across the frozen shore of the tundra, turning the shattered remnants of the Sapphire Labyrinth into a field of sparkling diamonds. But as I stood there, my feet sinking into the slushy remains of the Frozen Sea, the warmth of the light felt like an insult.
The "Eternal Eclipse" had been broken, yet the world felt darker than it ever had under the violet moon.
I stared at the man sitting on the rock. His silhouette was unmistakable—the broad shoulders of a warrior, the stark white hair of a survivor, the stillness of an Alpha. But the energy radiating from him was no longer a storm of cedar and rain. It was a stagnant pool of black water, cold and smelling of the lilies that always heralded my sister's presence.
"Kaelen?" I whispered again. The name felt like a prayer offered to a god who had already moved on.
