LILY POV
I ripped open a portal just as the Void Harvester's drain reached us, grabbing both Kestrel and my son before the thing could suck the life from our bodies.
We tumbled through twisting dimensions, landing hard in what looked like a world made entirely of crystal. Everything around us sparkled like diamonds, but I barely had time to notice before Kestrel was on his feet, scanning the distance.
"That was foolish," he said to my son. "Void Harvesters don't distinguish between friend and enemy. It would have eaten you too."
My son - I still couldn't think of him as anything else, even though he was ancient and scary - shrugged with frightening calm. "Better to die fighting than live as a prisoner."
"Nobody has to die!" I shouted, my feelings still raw from everything that had happened. The sadness from Elder Iris's death, the protectiveness I felt for my pack, the love for Caleb - they were all churning inside me like a storm.
