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The cove was a scene of devastation, as if the tide had mercilessly swept through the woods, leaving a trail of uprooted trees in its wake. Down the beach, the sand was littered with the remnants of twisted trunks and broken branches.

The sight of the peak above the cove brought a smile to her face.

She turned towards the choppy sea. Underneath the layers was Mira, most likely turning up tables and slashing throats with her whip. Without Naia, she was condemned to an eternal curse without a means of escape.

Naia examined her hand, reassured by the absence of any markings.

Her curse was finally broken, and her family awaited her.

She took off into a sprint through the carnage of the woods. Locals were already scouring the area. Naia passed by an electric truck repairing the lines. The workers waved politely as she passed by. Her feet carried her along the sodden, decayed leaves covering the forest floor. After all her walks with Ronin, she’d memorized the forest like the lines running across her palm.

Through a grove of plantain trees and across a clearing, the Kahale house came into view.

They were all as she had left them in the backyard. Akane sobbed with Ash in her arms. Avi and Yuki consoled Ronin as he produced the most tragic sounds she had ever heard. Sobbing into his hands, he pulled away from Yuki and Avi. They were no longer holding him back but trying to hold him up.

The effects of Ronin’s blood left Solaris paralyzed. He laid in the grass, peering up at the bright, blue sky.

Theon sat away from everyone with the wound in his abdomen slowly mending.

Sadness pricked Naia’s heart as they grieved her, but something else quickly took its place—gratitude, peace, joy. For she never thought she would receive affection to this degree.

Naia sprinted through the muddy terrain, creating a sloshing sound with her footfalls. Eager to reach them, her pulse raced in sync with her pace.

Theon’s head turned towards her first.

Yuki was the second person to spot her.

Too stunned to tear her eyes away, she smacked Ronin’s shoulder. “Ronin. Ronin!”

Ronin’s body trembled as he wept, his face hidden in his hands.

“Uncle Ronin, look!” Akane beamed, the buoyancy in her tone too apparent to ignore.

Naia was halfway to him when he raised his head.

His eyes widened.

Naia ran faster.

He blinked. Rubbed his eyes, convinced they were playing tricks on him. Then he climbed up to his feet. Mouth parted, he took a step towards her.

“Naia?” It wasn’t audible enough for her to hear, but she knew what the sound of her name looked like upon his lips.

Almost there.

A broad smile engulfed her face, longing to hold him in her arms, to hold her child for as long as she wished?—

From the tree line shadows, the grotesque figure levitated above Ronin, transforming the fleeting relief on his face into a searing agony.

Naia nearly tripped over her feet. Her heart sank through her as the wraith-like creature rammed its arm straight through Ronin’s sternum from behind.

Naia’s world tilted.

Flashes of Kaleo’s final moments flashed in her mind.

The nightrazer disintegrated at the touch of Ronin’s blood, like the formation of smoke carrying in a breeze.

Ronin collapsed onto the ground.