Chapter 43: The Shadow’s Judgment

The red moon wasn't just a light anymore; it was an eye, watching as the shadows of the Whispering Woods rose like a billion black needles.

The green-eyed witch screamed, but it wasn't a sound of power. It was the shriek of a predator realized it had become the prey.

"Stop this!" the witch commanded, thrusting her gnarled staff toward Nyx. "I am your creator! I am the one who summoned your—"

"You are nothing," Nyx interrupted. Her voice didn't sound like a five-year-old’s anymore. It sounded like the tectonic plates of the earth grinding together.

Nyx closed her small fist.

CRUNCH.

The witch’s staff didn't just break; it imploded, turning into a cloud of splinters that the shadows instantly consumed.

"Killian, get her out of there!" I cried, trying to move, but the black rune on my chest was burning white-hot, pinning me to the spot. The Coven was trying to use my life force as a shield.

Killian roared, his golden aura exploding as he fought against the invisible weight of the pact. "LET. HER. GO!"

He didn't run to me. He knew he couldn't touch me without the Coven’s seal killing us both. Instead, he turned his fury on the twelve hooded witches. He became a golden blur of claws and teeth, a storm of Alpha energy that tore through their magical barriers like wet paper.

But Nyx was faster.

"My Mommy," Nyx whispered, her violet eyes now completely black, leaking trails of dark smoke. "My Daddy."

She pointed a finger at the green-eyed witch.

"My... pain."

The shadows beneath the witch's feet turned into a literal mouth—a gaping maw of darkness. It didn't bite; it swallowed. In one heartbeat, the witch was standing there, cursing us. In the next, she was gone. No blood. No scream. Just a void where a person used to be.

The remaining Coven members broke their circle, panicking, trying to shift into hawks to fly away.

"Stay," Nyx commanded.

The air itself thickened, turning into a physical weight that slammed the witches back to the forest floor. The shadows crawled over them, not to kill, but to bind. They were woven into the roots of the ancient trees, their green robes turning to grey ash as the forest itself began to feed on their magic.

As the last witch was silenced, the pressure on my chest suddenly eased.

The green glow of the rune faded, replaced by a dull, throbbing ache. I collapsed to my knees, gasping for air.

The darkness in the clearing began to recede, flowing back into Nyx. She stood in the center of the carnage, her black teddy bear still clutched in one hand, her other hand glowing with a dying violet light.

She blinked. The blackness left her eyes, leaving them a soft, tear-filled purple.

"Mommy?" she whimpered, her tiny legs giving out.

I reached for her, but Killian was already there. He caught her before she hit the ground, gathering her into his massive arms, shielding her from the sight of what she had done.

He stood up, turning to me. His face was a mask of conflicting emotions—terror at his daughter's power, and a devastating, soul-crushing love for the woman who had risked everything to keep him alive.

He walked to me, stopping just inches away.

"The seal," he rasped, his eyes searching mine. "Is it gone?"

I looked down at my chest. The rune was still there, but it was dormant. "No. The witches are alive, tied to the trees. As long as they live, the pact exists. But they can't use it. Nyx... she locked them away."

Killian dropped to one knee, still holding our sleeping, exhausted daughter. He took my hand—the one I had bandaged—and unwrapped it with trembling fingers.

He saw the scar. The price I had paid.

He pressed his forehead against my palm, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

"I will find a way, Elena," he vowed into the quiet of the forest. "I will find a way to break every chain they put on you. Even if I have to hunt down every god in the heavens."

"We'll do it together," I whispered, ruffling Lucian's hair as he crawled out from behind a tree, looking at us with wide, golden eyes.

The Red Moon was setting, replaced by the pale light of dawn.

We had survived the night. But as we walked out of the Whispering Woods, I felt a new weight.

Nyx was no longer just a child. She was a Queen who had tasted blood. And the world was finally starting to wake up to the fact that the Blackwood family didn't just rule a pack.

We ruled the shadows themselves.