Chapter 182

Liam

For a heartbeat, the world stopped breathing.

I held my breath as I allowed myself to process the moment.

The gunshot cracked through the smoke and flame, echoing like thunder over the valley.

Darius jerked back, his grip on Alaria breaking instantly. Blood sprayed across the snow, dark against the white. His weapon slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a hollow clatter.

Alaria stumbled forward, free but frozen. She didn’t scream, she couldn’t. The sound had been ripped from her before it could form.

I was already moving, catching her before she fell. Her body was shaking, shock making her weightless in my arms.

Darius collapsed to his knees, one hand clutching the wound spreading crimson down his chest. His eyes lifted, wild at first… then softening in disbelief.

He looked past me.

And for a second, I thought he was staring at nothing.

Then I saw him…

A man standing at the ridge above the burning