Ember Dusk Hale had always known fire.
Not the wild, reckless kind people feared—but the slow, enduring heat that lived beneath coals. The kind that waited. The kind that chose when to burn.
Tonight, it burned for her.
The Bloodstone Pack lands were quiet under the silver wash of moonlight, most of the warriors already turned in after the brutal morning training. Crickets sang. Pines whispered. The world felt held in a breath between moments.
Ember leaned against the wooden railing of the overlook near the east ridge, arms folded loosely as she stared out over the forest. Vespera stirred inside her, restless but content—embers glowing, not flaring.
She felt her before she heard her.
A warmth—not Vespera’s—brushed against her awareness. Subtle. Familiar.
“You always come out here whe
