SAGE
I opened my eyes to white.
For a long mont, I did not understand what I was seeing. My mind floated sowhere thick and heavy, like I was suspended beneath deep water.
The ceiling above was smooth and unpainted, carved stone worn down by years of touch and ti. I blinked slowly, trying to piece together why my body felt like it had been broken apart and stitched back wrong.
My limbs were heavy. My chest ached. Even breathing felt like work.
A faint scent of incense curled through the air—earthy and sharp, the kind the priest favored during healings. The smoke drifted lazily toward the ceiling in pale ribbons.
Where was I?
I swallowed, and even that small motion hurt.
mories ca in fragnts. Ash. Light. Screams. Adam’s arms catching before I hit the ground.
Vampires. The sun. The abyss. The Queen.
I turned my head slightly. At the foot of the bed sat Adam.
He was slumped forward in a chair that looked far too small for him, elbows braced on his knees, hands loosely clasped. His head was bowed as if he had fallen asleep that way. His hair was ssier than usual, dark strands falling over his forehead. He looked... tired.
A small smile touched my lips despite the ache pulling at them. We had survived.
From the look of the room—stone walls, narrow alcoves carved into the rock, herbs hanging from twine near the entrance—I knew I was back in the pack lands. But not in the king’s chambers. This space felt older. Sacred.
My fingers shifted slightly against the surface beside .
Rock. Cold, solid rock.
Understanding settled. The caves. The tasting caves where rituals were conducted. They had brought a bed here for . A simple wooden fra with thick furs layered on top.
"How do you feel?"
I turned toward the voice.
The priest stood near the entrance, hands folded into the sleeves of his robes. His silver hair was tied back, and his lined face carried the calm of soone who had watched life and death trade places many tis.
"Like I’ve been run down by a truck," I croaked.
My voice sounded foreign. Dry. Weak.
He chuckled softly, the sound echoing gently in the cavern.
"You have been unconscious for almost a week," he said. "You are fortunate to still be alive."
A week? That felt unreal.
I said nothing. Instead, I lifted my hands slowly in front of . They trembled. They looked like my hands—sa scars, sa faint burn mark near my thumb from childhood—but they felt... empty.
Tentatively, I tried to summon a fla. Just a spark. A flicker.
I focused on my palm, calling on the familiar warmth that had always answered . Nothing ca. No ember. No whisper of heat.
The emptiness where my power should have been felt like a missing limb.
Panic stirred in my chest, sharply, suddenly.
Calm down, I mused, drawing a slow breath. It hurt, but I did it anyway.
It had been a worthy sacrifice, I tried to convince myself.
If losing my magic ant the vampires were gone—if it ant the earth was cleansed—then it had been worth it.
Still...
I reached inward. El?
Silence.
I tried again, pushing past the hollowness. El?
Nothing.
No warmth. No presence. No divine hum beneath my skin. The loneliness hit harder than the loss of fla.
Before I could spiral further, Adam stirred.
His head lifted sluggishly, like he had sensed the shift in the room. His eyes—those storm-dark eyes—found mine.
For a heartbeat, he froze.
Then he yelped. Actually yelped.
The chair scraped loudly against stone as he shot to his feet and crossed the distance between us in three strides. He dropped to his knees beside the bed and pulled into his arms carefully, like I was made of glass.
"Sage," he breathed, his voice breaking.
His arms wrapped around , warmly. I felt wetness against my shoulder. He was crying.
That undid more than anything.
"I’m here," I whispered.
He pulled back just enough to cup my face, his thumbs brushing my cheeks as if to confirm I was real. His eyes were red-rimd, exhaustion etched deep into his features.
"How are you?" he asked urgently.
I swallowed. "I’ve lost my magic."
The words tasted bitter.
Adam stared at for a mont, then leaned forward and kissed the tip of my nose.
"You are not defined by your magic," he said firmly. "You are defined by your strength. By your heart. By the fact that you stood against sothing none of us could have survived alone."
He pressed his forehead to mine. "You are a hero in all the regions now. Your na is being spoken everywhere. Even beyond our borders. ssengers have co from abroad asking about you."
I attempted a weak smile. Fa. It felt hollow compared to what I had lost.
"I miss it," I admitted softly.
His hand slid into mine. "I know."
For a mont, I wondered if I could learn again. If magic could be rebuilt from nothing. But the abyss had not just been a skill—it had been a calling. A tether to sothing divine.
I doubted it would return.
"How is everyone?" I asked instead, changing the topic, holding back the stinging tears.
The shift in his expression was imdiate. His eyes lit up.
"They’re alive," he said, and the relief in his voice made sothing inside ease. "They’re all alive."
The regret I had been nursing softened slightly.
"Tell ," I said.
He smiled, sitting more comfortably beside .
"Noah’s mate clicked," he began.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Naomi."
I blinked. Of course.
"It happened when we returned from the vampire region," Adam continued. "Once the bond fog was gone. She had always felt it. That’s why she was... the way she was."
"Obsessive?" I offered faintly.
He huffed a small laugh. "Yes. Turns out she thought he was rejecting her."
I wasn’t surprised. I had suspected sothing deeper there all along. "And Daniel?"
Adam hesitated for just a fraction of a second. "Isla."
I stiffened slightly, rembering...
"Isla told the queen about our plans, Adam. She is a traitor..." I said slowly, frowning.
Adam shook his head imdiately. "No. The queen lied. Again. She forced the information out of Isla’s mind after Isla tried to block her. The queen’s attempt nearly killed her."
My chest tightened. What?
"She was unconscious for four days," Adam added quietly. "She had ignored the queen’s call, tried to protect you. That’s what triggered the attack."
I exhaled slowly. The queen was dead. She had paid.
Relief still washed over at the thought that Isla had not betrayed .
"I’m glad," I murmured.
Adam brushed a strand of hair from my face.
"The barren lands are changing," he said then, his tone warming further. "Flowers are growing. Grass is pushing through the soil. The corruption is gone."
My heart fluttered faintly.
"I’ll take you there when you’re stronger," he promised.
I made a face. "My mouth probably slls terrible."
He snorted and kissed anyway. Then kissed again, just to prove he didn’t care.
I laughed weakly. "Freda?" I asked after a mont.
As if summoned by her na, the air shimred near the cave entrance.
Darius stepped through first, tall and composed as ever—but there was sothing different about him. His arm was wrapped around Freda’s waist. And he was smiling.
Not the polite, ancient smirk he usually wore. A genuine smile.
And Freda looked... radiant.
The mont her eyes landed on , she gasped and broke free from Darius’s hold, rushing toward the bed.
"Sage!" she cried.
She nearly tackled in her embrace, then imdiately adjusted when she rembered I was fragile. We hugged tightly anyway, both of us crying without restraint.
"You’re an ancient now," I whispered hoarsely against her shoulder. "Welco."
She laughed through tears.
Darius approached more slowly, his gaze assessing.
"I sensed you were awake," he said. "And to quell my lifemate’s restlessness, we ca."
Lifemate. The word suited them.
He paused, studying carefully. "Do you still have your powers?"
The cave felt quieter.
I looked down at my hands again. Then I shook my head.
Freda imdiately tightened her grip on my fingers. "Then I’ll teach you again," she said fiercely. "From the beginning if we have to."
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