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Morgan reached out a hand and touched my arm. It steadied me.

“She’s gone,” my mate told them all. “Medra is gone. We should go, too. We can talk about it more later.”

It was clear this wasn’t the joyous reunion our friends had been hoping for.

We were alive. But I was finding it hard to be grateful.

My grief was swelling inside me like a tempest, tearing at me with merciless claws.

I had sworn to protect the child at any cost, to shield her from harm with every fiber of my being. I had tried, and I had failed.

Now a ghostly whisper lingered in my heart. I could still see her face, so innocent and brave as she embraced her fate.

She had been a pawn in a game she had never asked to play. A victim of forces beyond her control.

I closed my eyes. I remembered the scent of the baby I had held in my arms. The sweet fragrance of her hair. The pink bloom in her tiny cheeks. The way she had smiled up at me as I sang to her while she lay in her cradle.

She had been such a precocious baby. Always so bold, so curious.

I had looked forward to teaching her so many things. How to fish, how to fight. Would she have made giant bubbles in a fountain like Rychel? Or adored baby animals like Morgan’s brother Kaye?

How could she really be gone?

Morgan’s hand slipped into mine. I realized she was leading me forward.

I followed numbly as our party moved through the trees.

My mind drifted back to the final moments in the palace of clouds.

There had been darkness. All had gone black.

Yes, but before that, there had been an explosion of light. Something had wrapped around me, enveloping me.

A shield.

The child had shielded us. Wrapped Morgan and me in a veil of protection as I had been doing for her—just before she had destroyed herself.

I remembered the look on her face as her eyes had met mine.

I stopped in my tracks.

Peace.

The expression had been one of peace.

“What is it?” Morgan murmured. She gestured to the others to go a little ways ahead without us. “Draven, what is it?”

“She saved us. Medra saved us.”

“She sacrificed herself. I know. I’ll never understand it.” She shook her head. “The power it must have taken.”

“Not just that. Not just her sacrifice. She shielded us, protected us as we fell. She’s the only reason we survived.”

Morgan looked startled. “I thought it was you. I thought you’d done that somehow. I didn’t even have time to react. It all happened so fast.”

I shook my head. “It wasn’t me.”

“I still don’t understand. She was only a baby when we left. How is it possible? It’s like a terrible dream. Will she still be there when we get back? I can’t accept it. I can’t believe that she’s gone.” Tears were trickling down Morgan’s face again. “I know you loved her more than I did, Draven. I know you cared for her more. But I cared, too. I swear I did. I just... I didn’t know how to show it like you did.”