The room was silent except for Nikolai's broken sobs.

He held Elise's body close to his chest, his whole body racking violently with the force of his grief, and his tears fell on her pale face while her eyes remained closed and peaceful.

"I'm sorry," he whispered again, his voice cracking. "I'm so sorry."

Lucian watched Nikolai break apart and even though they'd always been at odds from the beginning, his heart ached for him, but there was nothing he could say that would make this better.

Dante wiped blood from his mouth, the shadow wolves around them having gone still when Elise died like puppets with cut strings.

"Is...