PART I — THE LIGHT THROUGH THE SMOKE The ruined avenue stretched silently beneath a fading gray sky at dusk.
PART I — THE FALL IN THE ARENA The rodeo arena glowed beneath deep orange sunset light while dust drifted
Part 1 On East Mercer Avenue, where the buses coughed smoke into the afternoon and office shoes clicked
Elena did not ask where the girl’s parents were. The question had too many possible answers, most
Part 1 The battlefield had fallen quiet in the most terrible way. Not with peace, but with exhaustion.
Part 1 The winter village of Harthorn lay under a sky the color of old iron. Smoke crawled from the thatched
Part 1 The living room had the sleepy brightness of a house that thought it was still morning, even though
Part 1 The rain had stopped only minutes before Nora Blake saw the little girl in red. Water still ran
Part 1 The living room held the soft, sleepy warmth of a winter afternoon that had forgotten to hurry.
Natalie Cole sat on it, barefoot in a pale pink hoodie and white shorts. Owen Carter sat too close beside
Part 1 The rooftop restaurant had been built to make Los Angeles look gentle. At sunset, the city softened
The fortress plaza of Valemere was built for kings, not boys like Nico Bellari. Pale limestone