Miri's Pov
Everything had gone quiet.
Too quiet.
Aeila still stood a few feet away from me, but her smugness had twisted into confusion. Her lips moved slowly, repeating the incantation she had just used—the same one meant to kill Caius and Riven. The illusion shimmered faintly in the air, holding the image of my mates writhing in pain.
But they weren't. They didn't scream.
And I didn't feel it. Not in my chest. Not in my soul. Not in the bond.
Riven must have done this. Somehow, he'd planted an illusion so convincing that even Aeila, with all her of magic, had fallen for it. And if he had, that meant he and Caius had never been caught.
They were safe.
But then... where the hell were they?
Why didn't they tell me anything? Why didn't they try to reach me? Had they just left? Or was there something else I didn't understand?
Aeila growled, the illusion dissipating with a flick of her fingers. Her gaze whipped toward me, fury etched deep in the lines of her face.
