JORDAN

"DAPHNE!"

Her name tore at my throat, a desperate cry that burned into my lungs. My vision spun wildly—one moment I was there, trembling beneath the crackling energy that surrounded me, and the next I was swallowed by utter darkness.

The ground sank beneath her. The air turned icy. Her scent—soft lavender and wild pine—vanished like smoke in a storm.

I leaped forward, claws slicing through the fog, but there was nothing to catch—nothing to hold onto. Only air. Only loss.

“No… no, no!” I r