Magister Orion is long gone. Tea stands cold in my cup and my reflection stares back at me from the kitchen window, hollow-eyed and pale.
My phone sits, dark and accusatory on the table in front of me. Twenty-seven dead. Twenty-eight, if I count Ivy.
You're stalling, Selene says.
"I know." This phone call has been put off too long. A single day has felt like a week, but it doesn't excuse how I didn't call my allied alpha to inform him of his sister's disappearance.
And how am I supposed to explain why we believe she's dead?
My fingers shake as I reach for the phone. The screen lights up, too bright in the dim kitchen. Clayton's number is far down the list of recent contacts, untouched since before everything went wrong.
When things were peaceful, and I still thought my world was chaos.
The phone feels heavy in my hand as I press the call button. Each ring echoes like a death knell.
"Rowan speaking."
