REED — POV
Her scent was the strongest here.
I slowed my steps near the edge of the cliff, boots crunching softly over dirt and loose stone. The wind tore through the trees around me, but even the chill couldn't numb the turmoil burning inside my chest. I knelt, brushing my fingers over the broken earth where her scent ended—sharp, scattered, a desperate pattern that screamed she was running for her life.
She'd made it this far. Gods. She'd made it almost to the edge.
But the last traces of her scent didn't go forward. They didn't drop over the cliff.
They vanished.
Masked.
Hidden beneath a scentless void that could only mean one thing.
Blaze.
That bastard got to her first.
I closed my eyes, jaw clenching so tightly it ached. A thousand emotions tangled inside me like barbed wire—relief, rage, guilt, envy. I was glad she was safe. Of course I was. But it should have been me.
