The next morning came slowly.
A thin veil of dawn washed the council grounds in a muted gray-blue. Mist clung low to the earth, curling around trees and walkways like ghostly fingers. Birds had yet to begin their morning chorus, as though even nature hesitated to disturb the delicate hush that hung over the compound.
Kathy hadn’t slept. She sat in the same chair beside Michael’s bed, one hand loosely holding his lifeless fingers. At some point in the night she had draped a blanket around herself, but the chill still seeped into her bones.
When the door opened, she didn’t look up right away.
The soft rustle of movement, the faint scent of Silverblade pack… she knew before she lifted her eyes who stood there.
Calvin.
“Kathy,” he said softly.
She blinked, straightening slightly. “Did s
