Chapter 117: Ashes and Echoes

The journey back to the fortress was silent, the kind of silence born not from peace—but from exhaustion, from the weight of battle and the secrets left unsaid.

Serena’s body ached with every step, dried blood crusted over wounds she hadn’t even realized she’d taken. Leila leaned against her, barely able to stay conscious, but alive.

That was what mattered.

Elias walked just ahead, his back straight but his stride slower than usual. She could sense his turmoil, even though his expression remained unreadable.

They had won.

But at what cost?

As they reached the fortress gates, warriors poured out to meet them. Gasps rose when they saw Leila alive—bruised and bloodied but breathing. Serena handed her off to two healers who carried her into the infirmary. She stayed long enough to ensure Leila would recover, then stepped out into the courtyard again, where Elias waited.

A crowd had formed. Whispered rumors passed like wildfire.

“What happened in the catacombs?”

“Did she really shift mid-battle?”

“I heard she tore through three of them in seconds—on her own.”

Serena kept her chin up and her pace steady, even though every muscle screamed at her to lie down and sleep for a week. She hated the attention. Hated the awe in their eyes, the way they looked at her like she was something else entirely.

Not one of them.

Not human.

Not fully wolf.

Elias dismissed the crowd with a sharp look, and they scattered like leaves in wind.

“You should rest,” he said once they were alone in the war room, the firelight casting flickers of gold across the maps and blades lining the walls.

“So should you,” she countered, sitting on the edge of the table.

He didn’t sit. Just stood there, eyes fixed on the flickering flames. “You unleashed something tonight.”

She looked down at her hands. They were steady now, but earlier… she’d felt it—like an inferno rising under her skin, a force she couldn’t quite control.

“It wasn’t just a shift,” she admitted. “It felt like... a doorway. One that had always been locked. And now it’s wide open.”

He turned to her, eyes sharp. “What do you mean?”

“I saw him,” she said, barely a whisper. “The one who led the shadows. He knew who I was. Said the king speaks of me.”

Elias’s jaw tightened. “So this isn’t random. It’s personal.”

Serena nodded. “I think he wants me alive. Or maybe just awakened.”

Elias crossed the room and leaned on the table beside her. “If they’re targeting you specifically, we need to move fast. Before they take another piece of this pack.”

“I can’t keep waiting for them to attack,” Serena said. “We need to go to the capital.”

Elias blinked. “You want to confront the king.”

“I want answers,” she said firmly. “My powers, the shadow mark, my parents’ disappearance... I can’t ignore it anymore.”

Elias exhaled slowly. “You won’t go alone.”

The next morning broke with crimson clouds and the scent of rain in the air.

Serena stood on the training grounds, watching younger warriors spar. Their eyes kept darting to her when they thought she wasn’t looking. Whispers still followed her like shadows.

She hated how different she felt now.

Not because of fear—but because of expectation.

“You can’t put it back in the box,” Leila’s voice came softly from behind her.

Serena turned, surprised to see the warrior already out of the infirmary, dressed in light armor, a faint bruise on her cheek but a glint in her eyes.

“You should be resting.”

“I heal fast,” Leila said, then paused. “You saved me.”

“I wasn’t about to leave you to die.”

Leila smiled faintly. “You burned like a star, Serena. I’ve never seen anything like it. Not even in Elias.”

“That’s the problem,” Serena murmured. “They’ll fear me now. Or worse—worship me.”

“They already do,” Leila said simply. “But maybe that’s not a bad thing. Maybe it’s time they see what you’re really capable of.”

By midday, a meeting had been called.

The war council gathered in the stone chamber under the fortress, a place older than the bloodlines that now occupied it. Elias stood at the head of the table, with Serena at his right.

Theron, Leila, the elders, and several scouts flanked them.

“We’ve confirmed it,” said one scout. “The shadow army is mobilizing near the Blackthorn Valley. They’ve nearly doubled in numbers in the last week.”

“How?” an elder demanded. “We’ve cut their supply lines, burned their outposts.”

Serena’s voice was calm but sharp. “They’re not surviving on supplies. They’re feeding on power. The king’s been gathering magical anomalies, converting wolves into shadows.”

Leila shifted in her seat. “Then we need to strike before they cross the eastern ridge. Once they do, they’ll be on our doorstep.”

Elias’s jaw tightened. “Agreed. But we need to know what’s drawing them.”

Serena took a breath. “It’s me.”

All heads turned.

“They’re following the mark,” she said, pulling down her collar to reveal the faint glowing sigil still burned into her skin. “It’s like a beacon. They want whatever’s inside me. And the king... he’s the only one who knows what it is.”

The room fell silent.

Then Elias spoke. “We’re going to the capital.”

That night, Serena stood on the balcony of the fortress, the wind tugging at her hair.

She watched the stars—wondering which of them had witnessed the first war between shadow and light. Wondering how long this cycle had repeated—hybrids born, wars waged, kingdoms burned.

Elias stepped beside her. “You’re not alone in this.”

She looked at him. “Sometimes I feel like I am.”

“You’re not,” he said again. “I’m with you. Wherever this road leads.”

She didn’t speak for a moment. Just leaned into him, letting herself feel the comfort of his presence.

“I’m scared,” she admitted finally.

He wrapped an arm around her. “So am I.”

They stood there in silence, the moon casting silver light over the land.

War was coming.

But this time, she wouldn’t run.

This time, she would be ready.