LOGIN“No,” I breathed.
“No, not yet. Not like this. I am not ready!”But ready or not, darkness was coming.
It pulled me down. Away from everything I had fought to protect.The last thing I heard was Kael screaming my name.
The last thing I felt was Helena’s magic trying to hold me together. The last thing I thought was: I am sorry. I am so sorry. I tried.Theron studied me for a long moment.“To me? No, you’re still my Luna,” he paused. “But to others… this alternative approach is going to stir up resistance. People are already on edge. Push too hard and—”“And what?” I gestured at the half-built walls. “They’ll leave? Let them. Anyone not committed to surviving can walk. We’re better off without them.”“That’s cold, Luna.”“That’s realistic.” I turned to face him fully. “The version of me that cared about being liked died in the Black Realm. All that’s left is the one who cares about results. If that makes me cold, fine. As long as it keeps people breathing.”He watched me in silence.“I can work with cold,” he said at last. “Just… re
“Aldric sent word this morning,” Kael said. “Seraphine’s gathering forces somewhere shielded by heavy magic. He couldn’t pinpoint the location. But he confirmed the non-wolf allies. He mentioned… things. Creatures he wouldn’t name.”“Helpful,” I muttered.“He’s bound by oaths. You know how it is.”I waved it off. “What matters is that she has reinforcements we can’t see or count. So we plan for the worst.”Martin let out a low breath. “Not exactly encouraging.”“Realistic,” I said. “Right now, realistic is all we’ve got.”I leaned over the map, eyes tracing the lines of Black River and the scattered settlements around it. The strategy formed slowly, heavy and bitter on my tongue.&
Kael’s voice stayed flat.“She wants you to abdicate as Luna. Step down. Submit yourself to her for… judgment.”“Judgment,” I repeated.“Her word, not mine.” He took one step closer. The familiar scent of pine and smoke followed him, wrapping around me like it always did. “She says you destroyed centuries of her work. That you’re responsible for countless deaths and the instability tearing through wolf-kind. She wants you to answer for your crimes against the future.”“By letting her kill me,” I finished.“She didn’t say the word ‘kill.’ But yeah. That’s what she means.”I let the silence sit for a second.Seraphine wanted me to trade my life for the kingdom’s safety. My death for peace.“And if I refuse?”Kael’s jaw tightened. “Then she comes at us with everything she’s got. She’s be
I could still turn back.Lock the door again.Return to bed and let the gray reclaim me.I need you to be there when I get back.Alaric’s voice—real or imagined—whispers through my memory.I unlock the door.Turn the handle.Step out into the corridor.Erica is there.Of course she is.Slumped against the wall across from my door, asleep while sitting up.Her face is swollen from crying.Dark circles shadow her eyes.My daughter.Who lost her sight saving everyone.Who has been sitting outside my door for three days, begging me to acknowledge she exists.Guilt crashes through me.I ha
The blanket does not smell like him anymore.I know this in my head—three days of holding it, breathing against the fabric, my scent slowly replacing his. Milk and honey fading into something else.Something that is not my son.But I keep it pressed to my face anyway.It is all I have left.Outside my door, Erica is crying again.She has been there for hours. Maybe days.Time moves strangely in this room, pooling in corners like water, refusing to flow properly.“Mom, please,” her voice cracks through the wood. Young. So young. My daughter is sixteen, and she sounds like a child begging for comfort I cannot give. “Mom, just say something. Anything. I need to know you are alive in there.”I am alive.Technically.My heart beats. My lungs draw air. Blood moves through veins, sustaining biological processes that seem increasingly pointless.But alive?No.I think I died in the Black Real
“There,” Giga pointed ahead. “I see it.”The refuge.Stone walls built into the side of a rocky outcrop, just as I remembered. Light glowed from within—warm, real light that cut through the Black Realm’s constant gloom.I did not wait for the others.I urged my horse faster, ignoring Kael’s shout to slow down.The curse pulled harder, sensing my desperation, but I did not care.Could not care about anything except reaching that light.Reaching Alaric.I dismounted before my horse fully stopped, stumbling on legs that had gone half-numb from the curse’s touch. The refuge door stood open—just a crack, as if someone had left rushing.“Alaric?” I called, pushing through the door. “Alaric, it is Mom! I am her
"Or..." I said, pieces clicking into place. Everyone looked at me."Or she's completing her own preparations. Something big. Something that needs time.""The ritual," Garrett realized."The one Drake mentioned. Binding divine power to mortal form.""Takes preparation," Thea confirmed. "Blood circle
"I taught her. As I have taught you. She was brilliant. Brave beyond measure. But terrified, always. The fear never left her."I sat down heavily on a supply crate. "Tell me about her. Please. I barely remember..."Thea's expression softened.She sat beside me."What happened to her?" I asked."She
"How do we lure it here?" an assistant asked."That thing isn't going to just walk into an obvious trap."I looked across the field toward the distant walls. Toward where the monster waited. "I'll lure it.""Sophia," Kael started, his ancient voice edged with barely controlled fear."It wants me. S
"I know you'll need every edge," Thea said, gripping my shoulders firmly. "These runes will block three, perhaps four direct strikes before they shatter. After that, you fight without them.""Three or four is more than I dared hope for.""Thank you, Thea.""Do not thank me yet. Thank me if we all li







