Chapter 29. A Crown of Smoke

The valley below Hollowridge seethed with tension.

The rogue packs had taken their places beside the Hollowridge wolves, but the air between them still shimmered with mistrust. Wolves stood in stiff, watchful silence, eyes flicking to flank and shadow. A single spark could’ve turned caution into chaos.

The fires between them burned lower, hotter, narrower—no longer for warmth. They were signals now. Lines drawn in flame.

Above them, Selene stood at the edge of the cliff, the crown of ash in her hands.

It hadn’t cracked. Not once. Not even when the wind howled hard enough to lift cloaks from shoulders and send dust spiraling over the ridge. It should have shattered by now.

But it held.

Veyra joined her in silence, her cloak flaring like smoke clinging to a storm.

“Do you remembe