DALTON POV
The scent of smoke and blood still clung to Silvermoon even after the doctors had worked for hours, even after the last of the wounded prisoners had been carried inside. It was a heavy, metallic tang that crawled into my lungs and stayed there, reminding me of everything we had uncovered in that cursed mountain. I didn’t think I would ever be able to smell pine trees the same way again without remembering the suffocating mix of rot and iron that had tainted the woods.
Simon had Lily—or Violet, as my mind kept correcting me—in his arms, and the sight made something twist deep inside my chest. She looked impossibly small against Simon’s strong frame, her head tucked under his chin, clinging like she had already chosen her place in the world. And maybe she had.
He looked at her
