The Price of Peace

Cassia Rowe

The battlefield was silent. The scent of blood, magic, and death lingered in the air, carried by the soft wind that rustled through the trees. My body ached, my magic drained, but I forced my eyes open.

I was alive.

I felt Darius's warmth beside me, his arms wrapped around me as he held me close. His breathing was heavy, but steady, as if he were silently convincing himself that I was