The air inside the healer's hut was thick with the scent of crushed herbs and old magic. Flickering candlelight danced across the wooden walls, casting soft shadows as Nanny Nia stood over the altar, her fingers tracing the lines of an ancient symbol etched into the wood. Fiona sat nearby, clutching a steaming mug between her palms, her face drawn and tense.
"She's not safe," Nanny Nia murmured, more to herself than to Fiona. "Not out there. Not with Xaden missing and that wretched Alpha Hunter involved."
Fiona leaned forward. "We have to do something. We can't just sit here hoping Erik finds her in time."
Nia turned sharply. "I'm not sitting. I'm thinking. There's more at play than just Jasmine being gone. The energy in the air, the way Anna and her friends were celebrating—as if they knew something."
