Page 25

My pulse hammers hard enough that I’m sure he can hear it.

Then, finally, he looks back at me.

“Ruby’s been waiting for the fourth champion,” he says, and the hard line of his jaw softens by a fraction. “She’s going to want to hear everything.”

With that, he turns and walks toward the entrance, clearly expecting us to follow.

I glance at Logan. His expression is perfectly neutral, perfectly composed, perfectly Logan. His hand finds mine as we step through the gate, and his fire whispers across my knuckles, warm and calm.

The wards ripple as I cross the threshold. Silver electricity spreads across the dome, bright and welcoming, and both guards watch us pass with wide eyes.

Pine Valley opens around us on the other side.

It’s smaller than I expected, or maybe it just feels that way after two months at Blaze Academy, where everything’s designed to make you feel like a speck inside a cathedral. Here, the buildings are wood and stone, nestled into the landscape rather than towering over it. Warm light spills from windows. Smoke curls from chimneys. The main road is packed dirt with frost at its edges, and there are people walking along it—not many, given the hour, but enough to notice us and glance our way with open curiosity.

Connor walks ahead of us at a pace that doesn’t invite small talk, his boots steady on the frozen ground. The pack members we pass clear the way and give him a nod, and he acknowledges each one without breaking his stride.

It’s the most normal place I’ve been in months, and the normalcy of it makes the guilt twist harder in my stomach.

These people don’t look like soldiers. They don’t look like weapons, or champions, or chosen ones. They live in a small mountain town and trust the walls, the wards, and their alpha to keep them safe. Some have kids on their hips. One is carrying grocery bags. A couple is holding hands and staring at each other with love so deep it makes my heart ache.

I don’t deserve to be here. But here I am, about to put on what will hopefully be the performance of a lifetime. Because Logan and I are partners in crime now, and I’m just as bad as him, or possibly worse for betraying my destiny.

The thoughts haunt my mind as Connor leads us to a cabin set back from the main road. It’s larger than the others, with a wide porch and warm golden light pouring from every window. He takes the steps two at a time and pushes through the front door without knocking.

“Ruby,” he calls into the house, and his voice—the one that’s been clipped and measured since we met him—goes warm. “You’re going to want to come to the living room. Because I’ve got someone here you’ve been dying to meet.”

12

JADE

The living room is exactly what you’d expect from a mountain cabin, with wide plank floors, heavy hand-built furniture, and a fire crackling in a stone hearth. Books are stacked on every flat surface, and I flash back to Logan’s room at the academy, where he kept tons of books, too.

My time at Blaze feels like a lifetime ago, even though it’s only been days. How can so much change in only a few days?

I’m yanked out of my thoughts by footsteps coming from the hallway, and a girl who can only be Ruby turns the corner and stops.

She’s smaller than I expected, with a heart-shaped face, dark brown hair falling in loose waves past her shoulders, and turquoise eyes so vivid they look fake. She’s wearing pajama pants and an oversized sweater that’s sliding off one shoulder, like someone who was curled up reading twenty minutes ago and rolled out of bed.

“You’re the fourth.” She looks me up and down, as if she can’t believe I’m real. “Tempest’s chosen champion.”

“That’s what they keep telling me.”

She crosses the room in four steps and pulls me into a hug.

I freeze. Not because I don’t want it, but because I do, and that’s the problem. She’s warm and solid, she smells like pine, and she’s hugging me like I’m family she’s been waiting years to find… and I don’t deserve any of it.

I hug her back anyway.

“I’m sorry.” She pulls away, but she keeps her hands on my shoulders, her turquoise eyes searching my face. “I’ve just been waiting—we’ve all been waiting. I’ve been driving Connor crazy for months asking if there’s been any sign of you.” She glances at Connor, who’s leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and the faintest trace of a smile. “He can confirm the crazy part.”

“Crazy part confirmed,” he says with an approving nod.

Ruby turns back to me, and her smile is so genuine it makes my chest ache. “Sit down. Please. Both of you.” She gestures toward the couch, her eyes moving between me and Logan.

“Logan Ashford.” He extends his hand, and his smile is warm, nothing like the careful mask he was wearing at the gate. “I’m her⁠—“

“Boyfriend,” I cut in before he can find a more diplomatic word. “He’s been training me to not electrocute everyone I touch, which is a bigger accomplishment than it sounds.”