“I know you,” Darius whispered to the wolf. “You’re Ashera. You’ve been trying to come back to her, haven’t you?”
The wolf didn’t speak, not in words. But her energy radiated sorrow and hope intertwined.
Darius knelt beside the little girl, his breath curling in the frigid air. The memory around them flickered, a subtle shift in light like the realm itself was listening. Cassandra’s younger form stepped slightly closer, her fingers still tangled in Ashera’s fur. Her face tilted with curiosity, a child's wariness dancing in her gaze.
“You know my wolf,” she said quietly, her voice barely above the wind.
Darius nodded with a soft smile. “I do. Her name is Ashera. She’s been waiting for you for a very long time.”
The little girl blinked, lips twitching into a small, secretive smile. She
