The fortress shattered.Magic clashed, slamming into stone and sky, shaking the very foundation of the Elders’ rule.Lyla moved first, silver energy erupting from her hands, cutting through the spells meant to destroy her.She was beyond them.Beyond their control. Beyond their reach.The Elders had ruled for centuries.But now, they were afraid.Caelum fought at her side, his power twisting through the battlefield like living moonlight.Dani danced between shadows, her daggers striking like lightning.Jorah held the line, his golden eyes flashing as his blade cut through the chaos.Eli fought with precision, his strikes sharp, fast, lethal.But Lyla?She was the storm.One of the Elders raised his hands, summoning a barrier of ancient magic, thick as steel.Lyla laughed.And tore it apart.The Elder’s eyes widened.For the first time in centuries, they were losing.Eli’s voice rang out over the battle. "Take them down before they regroup!"Lyla lifted her hand, silver fire crackling
The night air hit Lyla’s skin like a blade.Cool. Sharp. Alive.The Bloodmarked moved behind her silent, waiting, ready.She had led them out of the dark.Now, they would remind the world who they were.Eli walked beside her, his jaw tight. “We hit them first. But how?”Jorah’s golden eyes flickered. “We cut off their influence. Their strongholds, their enforcers.”Caelum nodded. “We do more than weaken them. We make them fear us.”Lyla exhaled slowly, scanning the moonlit forest.The Elders had ruled for too long.They had built their power on lies, fear, control.And now?That power was cracking."We start with the oldest stronghold." Her voice was steady, final. "The one they thought could never fall."The Bloodmarked warriors straightened.Dani smirked. “I like this plan already.”Jorah tightened his grip on his weapons.Eli met Lyla’s gaze steady, unwavering."Then let’s burn their kingdom to the ground."The torches blazed.The wolves moved.And the war began.The forest breathe
The cavern shuddered.Lyla could feel them.Not just the Bloodmarked warriors standing before her but the ones still buried beneath time.The ones who had been locked away. Forgotten.Not anymore.She stepped forward, her silver eyes burning."I woke first," she said, her voice steady. "But I will not wake alone."Caelum watched her, unreadable."Then break the seal."The torches flared, casting flickering shadows against the walls.The others, the warriors, Eli, Dani, Jorah, held their breath.But Lyla wasn’t afraid.Because she knew what she had to do.She lifted her hand, palm open. The mark on her skin burned white-hot.This was what the Elders had tried to stop.Not just their power their return."Rise," she commanded.And the world obeyed.The cavern split apart, cracks racing across the stone.A pulse of magic, sharp and electric, rushed outward like a storm.And thenFrom the depths of the earth, the lost began to wake.The first tremor was small.The second shook the ground b
The cavern was silent.Not empty. Not lifeless.But filled with a power that had been waiting.Waiting for her.Lyla exhaled slowly, her silver eyes locked onto Caelum."The Elders feared us."Not a question.A fact.Caelum nodded. "They feared what we could become."The other Bloodmarked stood still, watching, listening.Jorah’s voice was low. "And what exactly were you becoming?"Caelum’s gaze flickered to him not with hostility, but with something close to pity."Something more."Lyla’s pulse pounded.She had seen it in the visions.Felt it in her blood.The Bloodmarked had not just been wolves.They had been evolving.Beyond the limits of flesh.Beyond the limits of the moon."We were not meant to be bound by the cycle of shifting," Caelum said. "We were meant to command it."Dani exhaled sharply. "So… what? You were turning into gods?"A pause.Then"Something close."The air in the cavern shivered.Lyla understood now.The Elders hadn’t just wiped them out.They had stolen their
The cavern was silent.Not empty. Not dead.But filled with something ancient, pulsing, waiting.Lyla stood at its center, her pulse steady as the Bloodmarked warriors rose before her.She had woken them.Now, they were hers.Dani exhaled sharply. "So… we just have an army of immortal wolf-warriors now? That’s not terrifying at all."Jorah ignored her, his golden eyes flickering. "They’re waiting for something."Eli’s voice was low. Controlled. "They’re waiting for her."Lyla knew he was right.She could feel it.The weight of their gazes.The unshaken loyalty in their stance.The Bloodmarked had returned but their purpose had not.That was hers to decide.Lyla took a slow step forward, meeting the gaze of the first warrior the one she had freed."Tell me your name."His silver eyes flickered, as if the question had pulled something from the dark.A pause.Then"I was called Caelum."The name hit the air like thunder.And suddenly, the others the warriors standing behind him shifted.
The cavern hummed with power.Lyla stood before the beast, her pulse steady, her silver eyes locked onto its own.It had bowed.Not in submission.Not in defeat.In recognition.Eli, Jorah, and Dani watched in tense silence.No one moved.No one breathed.Then, the warrior beside her, the one she had freed, exhaled slowly."It knows you now."Lyla felt it.The weight of its gaze.The invisible thread tying them together, woven deep into her blood."So what happens next?" Dani murmured.The beast shifted, its massive form flickering between shadow and solidity.Then, it spoke again not with words, but with meaning."You wake the others."The air in the cavern dropped.Lyla’s stomach tightened.Eli stiffened. "Others?"The warrior nodded. "It was never just one."Jorah’s breath came slow. "How many?"The beast’s silver eyes gleamed."Enough to finish what was started."Lyla’s fingers curled into fists.Because she understood now.This wasn’t just about claiming the past.This was about