The wind was still.
Unnaturally so.
No rustling leaves. No murmuring night creatures. Only the hollow hush that followed Caleb's near death, like the world itself was holding its breath.
Aria sat beside him, cradling his head in her lap. His chest rose and fell slowly, rhythm out of sync, like some part of him had returned out of order. His pulse thudded against her fingers, alive—but thinner, more distant than before. His eyes flickered beneath his lids as though trapped in dreams she couldn't reach.
"Elena said his spirit passed through the veil," Solene murmured from behind her. "But something… didn't come back with him."
Aria's gaze didn't move from Caleb's face. "He'll come back," she said, more to herself than anyone else. "All of him."
