Mag-log inAldrid's POV
I had faced enemies on battlefields and none of them scared me as much as Zevran did in that moment.
He sat behind his desk like a king carved from stone. Every line of his body radiated controlled fury. His eyes promised death if I said the wrong thing. If I made one mistake. If I gave him any reason to see me as a threat instead of the pathetic fool I was.
"Well?" Zevran's voice cut throu
Calista's POVThe words left my mouth and I saw the fear flash across Zevran's face.If this went wrong I might not survive. We both knew it was true but saying it out loud made it real. Made it something we had to acknowledge instead of pretending everything would be fine. His hand tightened on mine and I felt his terror through our bond. Felt him wanting to pull me back and find another way. But there was no other way and we both knew it."You will survive," he said firmly. "I will make sure of it.""You cannot promise that.""I just did." He pulled me closer and kissed my forehead. "I am not losing you. Not today. Not ever. Do you understand?"I wanted to believe him. Wanted to think love was enough to keep me safe. But I felt the fragment burning in my chest. Felt the network pulling at me through the connection. The source knew I was coming. Knew I planned to destroy it. It would fight back with everything it had."We should go," I said quietly. "Before I lose my nerve.""You wil
Zevran's POVI carried Calista away from the crater before Kaelen could finish speaking.She protested weakly but I ignored her. My mind was racing. That thing down there was growing. Spreading. Consuming everything in its path. We had hours at most before it breached the fortress walls and spilled into the countryside. But I would not let Calista throw herself at it without a real plan. Would not watch her die because we were desperate and reckless."Zevran, put me down," she said against my chest. "We need to go back.""Not yet." I set her on her feet but kept my arms around her. She swayed and I steadied her. "We need to think. We need a strategy.""There is no time for strategy.""We make time." I looked past her to where Kaelen stood with the soldiers. "How long do we have before that thing breaks containment?""Hours," Kaelen said grimly. "Maybe less. It is growing exponentially. The more it consumes the faster it spreads.""Then we have hours to figure out how to kill it." I tu
Kaelen's POVI caught Calista before she hit the ground.Zevran was already there, pulling her into his arms and calling her name over and over. Her eyes were closed and her skin looked gray. Whatever she did in that village had drained her completely. Now the fragment was fighting back and we were running out of time."Get her away from here," I said to Zevran. "Take her back to safety.""No." His voice was rough. "I am not leaving her.""Then let me go ahead," I said. "Let me find the source and figure out what we are dealing with. You stay with her. Keep her alive."He looked torn between duty and love. Between protecting his mate and protecting his kingdom. I understood that conflict. But right now Calista needed him more than I did."Go," he finally said. "Take twenty soldiers. Find that source. But be careful."I nodded and turned to the warriors. "You twenty. With me. The rest stay here and guard the king and queen."We moved quickly toward the ruins. The black smoke thickened
Calista's POVThe villages were burning when we arrived.Not with fire but with something worse. Something that made my skin crawl and my stomach turn. The air felt thick and wrong like breathing through wet cloth. Smoke rose in dark columns but it was not the gray smoke of normal flames. This smoke was black and oily and it moved with purpose. It twisted and reached like living fingers searching for something to grab."Stay close," Zevran said beside me. His hand found mine and squeezed. "Do not separate from the group."I nodded but my attention was on the village ahead. The houses stood intact. No structural damage. No signs of battle or invasion. But the silence was deafening. No voices. No movement. No life at all. Just that terrible thick air and the black smoke curling between buildings.Kaelen raised his hand and the soldiers stopped. We dismounted together and drew our weapons. The ground felt wrong under my feet. Too soft. Too warm. Like the earth itself was sick with whatev
Zevran's POVI let Calista sleep for three hours before waking her.It killed me to do it. She looked so peaceful lying there with her face pressed into the pillow and her breathing soft and steady. But we did not have the luxury of rest. Not when something was evolving inside her. Not when villages could be in danger. Not when every second we wasted gave that thing more time to spread."Calista." I touched her shoulder. "We need to work. We need answers."Her eyes opened and I saw the fear there before she hid it. She sat up slowly and rubbed her face. For a moment she looked lost. Then her jaw set and she nodded."The library?" she asked."The library."We dressed quickly and made our way downstairs. The palace was quiet. Most people were still sleeping. The sun had barely risen and soft morning light filtered through the windows. Everything looked normal. Safe. But I knew better. Danger was coming and we had to be ready.Lyra was already in the library when we got there. Books cove
Calista's POVThe vision hit me like a physical blow.I was standing in a vast empty space. Dark. Cold. Nothing existed here except shadows that moved with purpose. They twisted. Coiled. Reached toward something I could not see but felt in my bones. This was not a place. This was a warning. A glimpse of something terrible taking shape in corners I could not reach. Could not stop. Could not even fully understand."Calista." Zevran's voice pulled at me but I could not respond. Could not break free. The vision held me captive. Demanded I watch. Demanded I see what was coming so I could prepare or run or do something other than sit helpless while darkness spread.The shadows formed shapes. Figures. People corrupted by something poisonous. Something that turned them from themselves into twisted versions. They moved without will. Without choice. Like puppets controlled by invisible strings. I







