LOGINEmber Frost’s POV“Bullshit,” I snapped.The High Priestess made a strangled sound, caught somewhere between rage and panic, but Malachar didn’t even glance at her. That alone seemed to push the woman closer to losing control.“My lord—this insolence, this disrespect—”“Enough,” Malachar said quietly.It wasn't loud, but the cavern fell silent all the same. Even the High Priestess stopped talking.A knot tightened in my stomach as I watched a thin strand of black mist appear beside Malachar.Orion’s voice cracked behind me. “Don’t—”I already knew what he meant. Move. Get out of the way.But I didn’t.Not because I was fearless. Because I refused to step back.The moment the mist touched me, my skin went cold.And then something inside me answered it.I wasn't trying to get myself killed.Provoking Malachar hadn't been an accident. I'd wanted his attention from the start. As long as he struck first, I would have a chance to use Lunaris on him.I'd considered attacking with Lunaris dir
Ember Frost’s POVI couldn’t stop looking at him. Something about it didn’t sit right. It had nothing to do with the blood, the altar, or even the fact that he was a demon.But because he reminded me of someone.Eira.A chill ran down my spine.I looked again, searching for the resemblance. It didn't make sense. Their faces weren't identical. His features were sharper, more commanding. There was a hardness to him that Eira had never possessed.Yet the familiarity remained.It hid in the curve of a smile that wasn't there. In the way his eyes seemed to hold centuries of stories. In something I couldn't point to but couldn't ignore either.The more I looked, the more uneasy I became.No.That couldn't be right.Eira and Malachar couldn't be connected. The gap between them spanned thousands of years. There was no logical explanation for it.And yet...So why did I keep seeing her face every time I looked at him?Malachar stood beneath the moonlight spilling through the broken temple roo
Ember Frost’s POVI had never witnessed magic like this before.Streams of power tore across the altar, each spell more unsettling than the last. My pulse hammered in my ears as I watched. For the first time, I understood why ancient sorcerers had been feared for centuries.Compared to this, the magic most werewolf elders wielded felt almost ordinary. Powerful, yes, but familiar.Nothing behaved the way it should have. Attacks that looked certain to hit somehow missed. Others vanished before they could reach her. No matter how closely I watched, I couldn't figure out how she was doing it.Around me, every werewolf remained tense. Not a single person dared lower their guard.The black mist never stayed still. It drifted around the High Priestess in slow, restless waves, sometimes concealing her before revealing her again. The sight of it made me uneasy.What frightened me most was how little effort she seemed to be using.Attacks that should have forced anyone onto the defensive were b
Ember Frost’s POV"When your souls merge with His divine power, you will never be separated from Him. His strength becomes your strength. His eternity becomes your eternity."Her eyes gleamed with fanatical devotion."You wished for eternal life, did you not?"An uncomfortable silence followed.No one agreed with her, but no one seemed brave enough to challenge her either.The smile on her face faded slightly."You wanted rewards without sacrifice," she said, her gaze sweeping across the crowd. "You wanted blessings without paying the price. How selfish."I almost laughed.The woman was preparing to feed them to a nightmare from another realm, and somehow they were the selfish ones.Then she raised a hand.At first, nothing happened. A few confused glances passed through the crowd before several fanatics suddenly stiffened. Their bodies began moving toward the High Priestess against their will, their expressions twisting with panic as they struggled to resist.A chill settled in my st
Ember Frost's POVI threw myself at the High Priestess, but I wasn't fast enough.She slipped away before I could reach her, moving with an ease that made my stomach drop. Her eyes flicked toward me for the briefest second, almost amused, and then she spoke the final words of the incantation.The world changed.A column of black energy shot into the sky.The force of it hit me like a physical blow. The stone beneath my feet trembled, my ears rang, and for a second I couldn't breathe.Then the entire altar fell still.The battle that had filled the chamber with noise and chaos vanished in an instant. Wolves stopped fighting. Fanatics stopped running. Even the injured struggling across the ground froze where they were.A cold shiver raced down my spine, and every muscle in my body locked up.Something had arrived.I didn't know what it was, but the dread that swept through me felt older than fear. I had faced rogues, monsters, and death before. This was different.My mind was still tryi
Ember Frost’s POVThe order was pointless. Most of them were already on their knees, heads lowered and backs bent, looking more like livestock waiting for slaughter than worshippers waiting for a blessing.Then the sky changed.The clouds slowly drifted apart, and moonlight spilled down onto the altar, turning the entire stone platform a pale silver. A murmur passed through the crowd, low and uncertain, but it didn’t last long.The High Priestess drew a knife without hesitation and sliced her palm. Blood dripped onto the stone as she began to chant, low and steady at first, then rising with each word.I didn’t understand any of it, but something about the sound made my skin crawl. It felt wrong in a way I couldn’t explain, like I wasn’t supposed to be hearing it at all.Then a scream cut through the night.The chanting stuttered for half a beat, and every head snapped toward the darkness.Something burst out from the edge of the forest.Wolves.The order was pointless. Most of them wer
Ember Frost’s POVAt the same time, we were quietly looking into the Astral Eye. Father had already dispatched a skilled scouting group ahead of us to the witch clan’s abandoned lands in the Stormspire Mountains. Any place tied to sealed demons was never simple. Carelessness could cost lives. Befor
Ember Frost’s POV I refused to back down.No matter how many times my father tried to shut the discussion down, I kept pushing, laying out every thought I had, every hope I was clinging to. At last, he let out a sigh, giving up on the fight.“Alright,” he said quietly. “Let’s say I allow you to go
Ember Frost’s POV“Oh… Goddess, your eyes… They’re clear now.”I blinked. “You can see me?”Eira nodded slowly. The confusion that used to cloud her gaze was gone, and her eyes were steady and focused. Yet there was no hint of relief on her face. Instead, her expression remained solemn and heavy.“
Ember Frost’s POV“What? “The Stormspire Mountains?” Eira blinked at me as if I’d spoken in another language. “There are sorcerers living out there, too? That can’t be right. I’ve never heard of anything like that.”“I hadn’t either,” I admitted with a helpless shrug. “But according to what that w







