And just like that, the smoke vanished.
Gone.
Like it had never been there.
I blinked hard, stumbling forward with claws still drawn, breath ragged in my throat.
But all I saw was the battlefield I’d left behind.
Ash.
Blood.
Steel.
Howls.
But no Kingsley. No Kat.
“NO!” My roar cracked the air like thunder.
I spun around, eyes wild, scanning every corner of the torn-up clearing. Nothing. No flicker of flame. No scent of them on the wind. No thread of the bond. No answer.
Gone.
They were gone.
Fury slammed into me like a tidal wave.
My vision darkened at the edges. Black, suffocating rage bloomed behind my eyes. I could barely breathe through it. Could barely stand beneath it.
Where the hell were they?
What did that smoke do?
“Give them back!” I screamed into the air, voice
