The air grew thinner as we climbed higher into the mountains. Each breath cut sharp into my lungs, the cold sinking in like teeth, but the Moonbond kept dragging me forward. The threads beneath my skin hummed, insistent and unyielding, guiding me toward something I still could not see.
My brothers walked ahead with focused silence. Kael’s ears twitched at every falling pebble. Soren’s eyes traced the cliffs as if he could read the wind. Ryn moved with careful certainty, each step placed like he had walked this ridge a hundred times. Talon stayed close at my side, steady and warm, the calm in the wild storm of my thoughts.
The forest had faded behind us, replaced by jagged cliffs rising steeply into the sky. Snow dusted the black stone in thin layers, glittering like crushed moonlight. My
