LOGINThey all looked at me, and I hated it.Not the fear.Not the doubt.The distance.It spread through the room like a quiet wall, even though we stood only a few steps apart.“Say something,” Darian muttered under his breath.I heard him.Of course I did.But I didn’t answer right away.Because every word I spoke now carried weight.Too much weight.“They’re not attacking yet,” Rowan said, trying to steady the room.“Not yet,” Mira added.That word sat heavy.Not yet.Kael stood beside me, close enough to feel, far enough to respect the space I had chosen.“They’re waiting for her,” someone whispered from the back.Not quietly enough.Not far enough.I turned slightly.“Say it louder.”The elder froze.Then straightened.“They’re waiting for you,” he repeated.“Why?” another voice cut in. “What does she have that calls them?”More whispers.More eyes.All on me.Always on me.I stepped forward.The room shifted.Not back.But not closer either.“I don’t know,” I said.Truth.Clear.No c
The blade slipped from his grip, and the younger warrior knocked him flat.A few laughs broke out around the training ring.Kael hit the ground hard, breath pushed from his chest. Dust clung to his clothes as he stared up at the sky for a second.He didn’t move.Didn’t snap.Didn’t command.“Get up,” the young warrior said, offering a hand. “Or are you done already?”Kael took the hand.Pulled himself up.“I’m not done.”The circle tightened.Eyes watched him.Not as an Alpha.Not as a leader.Just another fighter.Rowan leaned against the fence, arms crossed. “You’re slower today.”Kael rolled his shoulder. “I noticed.”Darian chuckled. “You used to bark orders instead of taking hits.”“I deserved that one,” Kael said.The young warrior smirked. “Then come again.”Kael nodded.No pride.No anger.Just focus.They circled.This time, Kael moved first.Faster.Cleaner.He blocked, stepped in, and struck low.The young warrior stumbled but recovered quickly.“Better,” Rowan muttered.Da
He laughed, and it cut deeper than any wound.I hadn’t heard that sound from Kael in days.Not in the middle of tension. Not after everything that had shifted between us.But there it was.Soft. Real.Unaware.I stood at the edge of the upper balcony, hidden in shadow, watching him below.He was with Rowan and Darian, speaking low, relaxed for once.Mira sat nearby, listening, her eyes moving between them.Normal.It looked almost normal.And I stayed where I was.Far enough not to disturb it.Far enough not to belong to it.“Still hiding?”I didn’t turn.“I’m not hiding.”Lysa stepped beside me anyway.“You’ve been up here a while.”“I prefer quiet.”She followed my gaze downward.“To watch him?”Her tone held no judgment.Just truth.I didn’t answer.Because she was right.Kael leaned against the wall, arms crossed, saying something that made Darian scoff and Rowan shake his head.Mira smiled.A simple moment.And I wasn’t part of it.“You made your choice,” Lysa said gently.“I kno
The silence felt wrong.No roar. No impact. No shaking walls.Just stillness.Rowan stood at the gate, blade raised. “Why did they stop?”Darian didn’t lower his weapon. “I don’t trust it.”“Neither do I,” I said.The doors stood closed again. Reinforced. Guarded.But the pressure from outside had vanished.Mira stepped closer to the threshold, eyes focused beyond the wood. “They’re still there.”“How many?” Kael asked.“Enough.”That wasn’t comforting.I moved beside her. “Are they waiting?”She hesitated. “Not like before.”“What does that mean?”“They’re not trying to break in.” She frowned slightly. “They’re… watching.”Darian let out a dry laugh. “Great. Now they think.”Rowan shot him a look. “They always thought. We just didn’t notice.”I placed my hand against the gate.Cold.But steady.No force pushing back.“They felt what happened,” I said.Kael crossed his arms. “You forcing the last one down.”“Yes.”“They learned from it.”“Everything learns,” I said.Rowan lowered his
The arguing started before the blood dried.“You don’t get to decide this alone!”A chair scraped hard across stone as an elder stood.“We follow order, not fear,” another snapped.“And what you saw out there was not order.”I stood at the center of the hall, silent.Let them speak.Let them show themselves.The council chamber of Frostveil felt smaller than usual. Too many leaders. Too much tension. The air held the weight of what they had witnessed outside.Power.Mine.And they didn’t know where they stood with it.Rowan leaned against a pillar, arms crossed. Watching.Darian stood near the doors, blocking any quick exit. Also watching.Mira sat quietly beside him.Listening.Learning.Kael stood apart from the main circle.Not at my side.Not among the elders.Somewhere in between.That alone told them everything.Elder Varik slammed his fist against the table.“We cannot allow one person to hold this much control!”A murmur spread.Agreement.Fear.Support.All mixed.Another eld
The second creature didn’t hesitate.It burst through the broken ground and slammed into the outer wall before anyone could react.“Positions!” Rowan roared.The impact shook the tower beneath my feet.“More coming,” Mira said, her voice tight.I didn’t look away from the ridge.Shapes moved under the snow.Fast.Too many.Kael stepped beside me. “We can’t hold this line if they all surface at once.”“We don’t let them,” I said.Darian barked from below, “Gate team ready!”I turned. “Open halfway. Funnel them in. Same formation.”Rowan glanced up at me. “Again?”“Yes.”“That worked once.”“It will work again.”Kael’s jaw tightened. “You’re risking yourself every time you step into that lane.”“I know.”“That’s not a plan.”“It’s the only one that gives us control.”The gate creaked open.A second creature lunged forward immediately.Faster than the first.Sharper.It didn’t pause at the threshold.“Brace!” Rowan shouted.Spears met its charge.It slammed into them, snapping two shafts
The first arrow missed my throat by inches.It struck the stone beside the staircase and shattered into splinters of black glass.“Down!” Kael roared.He tackled me just as three more arrows sliced through the air from the ridge above.The courtyard exploded into chaos.Villagers screamed and scatt
Mira screamed.It wasn’t loud at first. It was sharp. Cut off. Like someone had clamped a hand over her mouth.I was halfway across the ruined courtyard before I even realized I was moving.“Where is she?” I shouted.Kael spun toward the inner corridor. “She was with the healers!”Another scream. T
The ground burned under my feet.Not fire. Not heat.Memory.The villagers were still kneeling when it began, their heads bowed in fear and awe, the courtyard silent except for the wind cutting through broken walls. Then the stone beneath me pulsed once, like a heartbeat.And the symbols rose.They
Kael woke with Elara’s name on his lips and guilt in his chest.The room was dark, Frostveil quiet beyond the stone walls. But sleep had not been kind. He had dreamed of silver light cracking open the mountain again, of Mira standing alone at its edge, of Elara turning her back on him while the gro







