*Roxy*

I watch in horror as the witches’ magic lifts Leo into the air, his midnight-black wolf twisting in pain, suspended like a marionette on invisible strings. The witches’ chant claws through the morning.

“No!” I scream, slamming both palms against the windowsill. My voice breaks, raw and useless against the sky.

Then—they drop him.

His body hits the ground with a sickening thud. He’s completely still.--motionless.

A scream tears from my throat. “Somebody help me!” I shout, leaning out the window, desperate. “Please! Someone! Throw me a rope!”

Below, chaos churns through the valley. Wolves sprint, warriors cry out, magic swirls like smoke. The witches scream again, louder this...