The silence after the collapse was deafening.
Aria stared at the place where Caleb had been only moments ago—where the air still shimmered faintly with Hollow energy, rippling like oil on water. Her knees hit the fractured stone floor, blood dripping from her hands, but she didn't feel the pain. Not in her body, anyway.
Inside, everything screamed.
No. No, no, no.
Her wolf howled so loud it rattled the inside of her skull, clawing at the thin walls of control she still clung to. Her breath hitched, breaking into raw, uneven sobs. She could still feel him—the echo of him—through their bond. But it was faint, like listening to a heartbeat from the bottom of a frozen lake.
Her fingers clawed at the stone. "Caleb…" Her voice cracked like shattered glass. "Come back."
But he didn't.
Footsteps pounded behind her. Rowan skidded into view, blade drawn, his chest heaving. "Aria—what happened? Where is he?"
