I took her hands and cupped them within mine. “Do not forget who you are and all you are capable of when you surrender.”

The wind had never felt more alive than it did upon the precipice of the cliff ledge we stood waiting on. It forced my hair to fly over my shoulders and lashed at my cheeks in both greeting and warning.

“Ready?” Scythe asked, and I knew he was referring to more than just the deadly stunt we were about to hopefully pull off.

He had been waiting where I’d left him below the stairs in the tower, and after he’d held me until he was satisfied I was okay, we’d not waited another moment.

Now, we waited for the carriage ambling down the mountain pass to come into better view. To ensure the driver, and perhaps even the occupants within, would see us.

I didn’t look back at the towers in the distance.

I refused to fall prey to the crack within my chest. I’d been given too many at the hands of this land and its ruler. No matter how much it hurt to walk away for good, it was indeed past time to move on.

It was time to start again.

Tense with anticipation and apprehension, I swallowed at the sight of the raging river crashing against the sharp rocks below. We would be fine. I’d done this enough that it would work. And should I fail, I knew the powerful male standing beside me would not.

I nodded. “Ready.”

The carriage drew closer, trundling toward the towers. We would give them news to take with them.

The news of our demise.

Scythe backed up, then roared to make sure we had their full attention. My heart fell into my stomach as the sound shook the skies, and he made a show of charging and causing me to fall back over the ledge.

I should have screamed.

Instead, I could only smile as death loomed close and reached for me with cold, welcoming hands. It didn’t scare me. It couldn’t when I’d felt its embrace before.

And I’d survived.

Scythe’s hand captured mine right before we crashed into the river. Shadow enfolded, stealing us from this cursed isle, and I took my wolf home.

EPILOGUE

Scythe

Three years later…

The sorceress arrived in the dead of night.

Uncurling from Aster, I rose from the bed with my claws already unsheathed. They retracted slowly at the sight of Silver standing in the doorway to our room.

Aster startled awake with a gasp. “Silver?” Moving her tangled hair from her face, she sat up and snatched her robe from the end of the bed, pulling it on as she rounded it. “Stars, what happened to you?”

But the sorceress was staring at me.