I press my lips to his blonde hair. “And I missed you every day.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Jax leaning against a pillar, arms folded. He’s watching us quietly. When he catches me looking, he gives the faintest nod. It almost looks like a smile.
I lower Finn back to the ground, brushing his hair from his face. “Come on,” I say softly. “I’ll walk you back to the nursery.”
He slips his hand into mine, and we walk through the courtyard path lined with climbing ivy and carved stone wolves.
He chatters the whole way. “Atlas says when he grows up, he’ll be the best warrior in all Silvercrest! But I told him he has to beat me first!”
“Oh?” I tease gently. “And will you let him win?”
“Never!” He grins, missing a front tooth.
His laughter fills the hallway as we approach the nursery doors. My heart feels lighter than it has in weeks—until Nyx’s voice slices through my thoughts like a blade.
Save her.
The air leaves my lungs with a gasp.
‘Save Ivy!’ she roars again, so loud it rattles my bones.
I freeze mid-step. “What—”
Then I smell it. Smoke.
“Finn!” I grab him, scooping him into my arms before he can protest. I run.
The corridor fills with shouting voices and the faint sound of crackling flames. Smoke thickens the air as I reach the nursery doors. The chemical stench hits me first, tinged with something unnatural.
Green light flickers under the door. I kick it open.
“Stay here!” I shout, dropping Finn outside before dragging my eyes back to the smoke. “Ivy!”
Flames crawl up the drapes, eating through silk and wood, burning an eerie green. The stench of roses, almonds, and blood is thick enough to make me throw up, but I hold myself steady. Ivy is on her bed, crying, her eyes closed.
Without a thought, I run straight through the smoke.
“Nyx!” I call.
Power surges inside me. My vision floods silver. A translucent barrier bursts to life around us, shimmering like glass. The flames slam against it and scatter, heat roaring around but never touching. The shock swallows my senses momentarily.
This is what it means to be High Luna.
I grab Ivy, clutching her against my chest. Her small arms cling to my neck, her sobs shaking through me. “You’re safe,” I whisper, coughing. “You’re safe, baby.”
Guards rush in then, splashing buckets of water, their shouts enveloping us. The flames die slowly, hissing, leaving blackened curtains and smoke curling through the ceiling.
I fall to my knees near the doorway, holding both my children close. Ivy sobs against me and Finn clings to my arm, eyes wide in shock. My body shakes uncontrollably.
Ivy could’ve died. My sweet little girl could’ve died.
Where were the guards?!
“What happened?” Kade’s furious voice cuts through the noise. He strides in, Jax close behind him.
I lift my head, still coughing. “The fire was green,” I choke out. “It wasn’t an accident. It’s witchfire.”
The guards exchange uneasy looks. One mutters, “It—it looked normal at first, Alpha. Then—then it changed.”
