Chapter Seventy Six - The Magic

( Kael’s POV)

The river still roared in my ears long after the battle had gone silent.

Smoke rose between the trees with blue, cold, and wrong. The scent of burning magic hung thick in the air, and every step forward felt heavier, as though the forest itself were trying to keep me from moving.

Half the pack was gone. The rest were wounded. Lira limped at my side, her hands trembling around the cracked remains of her wardstones.

“She ran for the river,” she said. Her voice was hoarse, half-broken. “I saw her. Aria had Storm.”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. If I spoke, I’d taste blood again. Not the enemy’s but mine. The Hollow was gone, swallowed by the mist. Every memory we had there burned to ash.

Now there was only the forest. And the sound of the river calling like a blade drawn from a sheath.

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We reached the clearing just before dawn.

The mist was thin here, shredded by wind and light, but the air still stank of death. The trees