“Hey.” I grab his arm. “You can’t keep ignoring me.”
“What else am I supposed to do?” Dayton hisses under his breath.
“I don’t know. Talk to me?”
“About what?” He stops, but his eyes won’t meet mine. “Farron, Rosalina’s gone. It’s up to her now. Kel has everything under control here. Ezryn can go back to Spring with his shiny suit of armor and his blessing and his fucked-up brother. I should return to Summer. Connect with Delphia. Look after my people. Start rebuilding Hadria.”
“I’ll come with you,” I breathe. “My father’s looking after Autumn?—”
“No,” he interrupts. “I can’t…can’t be with you right now.”
My words are a hushed breath. “Because I saved your life?”
He jams a finger against his temple. “Because there’s something wrong inside our heads. And you don’t want to get it out.”
“You’re afraid,” I growl. “We need every advantage we can. Why are you resisting such power?”
Dayton stares at me, unblinking. “I can’t believe this.”
“What? That for once, you’re the coward, and I’m not?”
“You’ve broken your promise.”
“What promise?” I ask.
Dayton snatches his necklace from under his shirt. A piece of red sea glass glints from the snow’s reflection. “The first summer you spent with me in Hadria, you made me a promise. I promised to always be me, and you promised to always be you.”
The memory washes over me like a briny wave. Salty skin, kisses like sunshine, a love so young and fervent, I thought my heart might tear out of my chest from my need. The first night we ever made love, we made that vow to each other. “Dayton, I’m still me.”
“No, you’re not,” he whispers. “And I’m damned sure I’m not still me.”
He turns and starts walking away from me.
“Day—” I gasp. “I brought you back.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you should have left me dead.”
Silence echoes in his wake as his body shifts, turning into the Summer wolf. He begins loping across the tundra, back toward Frostfang.
My throat tightens, and tears threaten to fall, but I don’t let them.
From the ashes, a new world shall rise. Those who fear the flame will still burn.
“Quiet,” I growl, squeezing my eyes closed.
A hand touches my shoulder, and I leap away, hands suddenly aflame.
“Whoa, it’s just me,” Kel says, holding his palms up. “You okay?”
My flames die, and I take a shaky breath. “Sorry. Didn’t hear you coming.”
“What did you find up there?” asks George, walking over to us.
“The volcano is dormant. The ice from the Above put it back to sleep.” Kel nudges me. “Good work, Fare.”
“You’re the one who brought the stars down,” I mumble.
A cry sounds, and we look to the side of the mountain where Ezryn and Kai are examining a boulder. Kairyn’s been fitted with new clothes since his armor was destroyed in his transformation, but he still looks ridiculous, the pants too short, the jacket’s buttons straining over his chest. His tail flicks out of the waistband, wagging excitedly.
