The portal deposited Victoria in the eastern gardens of the Blackwood estate.
She stumbled forward onto familiar ground and immediately had to brace herself against a tree to keep from collapsing.
Every muscle in her body screamed with exhaustion. Her magic was depleted to dangerous levels. The corruption spreading through her channels pulsed with each heartbeat like a second, darker pulse.
But she was home.
Victoria looked up at the estate and felt something twist in her chest.
The damage from Thalia's attack was still visible, scorch marks on the walls, broken windows being repaired, sections of the grounds torn up and slowly being restored.
But there was also life.
Pack members moving about their business. Lights burning in windows. The steady hum of a household that had survived devastation and was choosing to keep going.
Victoria pushed away from the wall and forced herself to stand upright.
