None of us do.
But the Nightmares have formed their circle, and the darkness feels just a little less absolute than it did before.
For the first time since we fell into this hell, hope has a shape.
It’s just wrapped in smoke and shadow, carrying debts we don’t understand and a cost we haven’t paid yet.
The lead Nightmare’s silver eyes find mine across the chamber.
And I swear I hear a voice—not words exactly, but meaning—whisper through my mind.
Fire cannot burn what’s already ash. But it can light the way home.
My flames gutter, then steady.
Yeah.
We’re getting her out of here.
Chapter 6
Bree
The world comes back in pieces.
Sound first—the low thrum of something heavy moving, steady as breath. Then warmth. Not much, but enough to make me realize how cold I’ve been.
A voice murmurs nearby, too low to understand. Another answers. The words blend together, deep and soft, like waves hitting stone.
Light filters through my lashes—silver and black, pulsing like veins beneath skin.
I’m still in the Void.
My body tenses on instinct, but the panic doesn’t come. Not this time.
Because something’s different.
The realization should terrify me. It doesn’t.
Then the smell hits me.
Smoke. Fire. Leather.Them.
The air isn’t biting anymore—it hums. Low, warm, alive. The kind of magic that doesn’t hurt to breathe.
I force my eyes open.
Shapes come into focus slowly: Gray’s wolf form curled near my feet, motionless but watchful. Rhett kneeling beside someone—Stellan, maybe. Jace standing guard with a blade that catches the silver light. Theo’s hands pressed together like he’s praying. Wes leaning over Seth, his expression torn between fear and something else.
And beyond them—
Creatures.
For a heartbeat I think I’m dreaming them. Massive, horned silhouettes rising out of the mist. Smoke rolling from their hooves. Silver eyes burning like stars.
But the Ether doesn’t recoil.
It stretches toward them.
