Chapter 2 Bloom

By the time Cassian and I left my room, the ritual grounds deep within the palace were already prepared.

Every ranked member of the pack stood silently around the massive altar encircled by ancient stone pillars. No one spoke. No one moved.

It felt as though every single person was thinking the same thing.

What if she doesn't come back?

A cold wind swept in from the forest, slipping through the stone corridors and tossing my hair across my face. I looked up. The lunar eclipse had begun.

As crimson slowly consumed the moon, the entire forest seemed to hold its breath. Cassian stood beside me. He didn't speak. Neither did I. Sometimes silence carried more weight than words ever could.

I walked toward the center of the altar. The moment the moon turned completely blood-red, the ritual began.

Ancient runes carved into the stone flared to life one after another as the silver water spread across the altar. Purple and silver light surged upward between the towering pillars, and the very air grew heavier.

It felt as though the entire world was watching us. I drew the silver dagger from my belt. Opening my hand, I rested the cold blade against my palm. The chill of the metal sent a shiver through me.

Around me, the ranked wolves stepped forward one by one, slicing open their palms and offering their blood to the altar.

Then it was my turn. I took a slow, steady breath. This was my destiny.

I pressed the blade into my palm. The pain was sharper than I expected. Blood streamed slowly from the wound, flowing into the center of the altar where it merged with everyone else's.

The instant the first drop touched the others...

Everything changed. The runes erupted with blinding light. Dense gray mist poured from the stone floor.

It grew...

It thickened...

Within seconds, it twisted into a massive swirling gateway directly in front of me. The portal had opened. Its depths were nothing but endless darkness. I turned around one last time.

Cassian was watching me. There was fear in those blue eyes. But there was something even stronger than fear. Faith.

The moment our eyes met, his voice echoed inside my mind.

"You're coming back. I'll protect your body no matter what it takes. Go... and claim what's rightfully yours."

My chest tightened. I gave him the smallest nod before turning back toward the portal.

For Cassian...

For everyone I loved...

And for every hybrid born like me...

I'd already accepted that I might never return. I reached toward the dark surface of the gateway.

The instant my fingers touched it, it felt as though my entire body was being torn apart. As if my soul were being ripped from flesh and bone. Gravity vanished. I couldn't breathe. I tried to scream. No sound came out. The last thing I felt was my knees giving way beneath me.

My body started to fall. But I never hit the ground. Cassian... He caught me. I saw him pull me into his arms.

He carefully rested my head across his lap, then gently brushed the strands of hair away from my face with trembling fingers. Shielding me. Protecting me.

Then everything changed. I was no longer looking through my own eyes. My soul... Had left my body. Standing at the threshold of the portal, I looked back and watched Cassian cradle my lifeless body.

It was the first time I'd ever seen him look so helpless. I took one step forward. And the world behind me disappeared.

The wind was gone. Cassian's breathing was gone. Heartbeats... Voices... Life itself... Everything vanished at once. Absolute silence.

I found myself surrounded by endless gray mist in a place where even time had ceased to exist. There was no direction. No distance. Nothing but fog...

And thousands of whispers that didn't belong to me drifting through it. Each one reached for my mind, trying to pull me somewhere else.

Fear rose inside me for a brief moment. Then I crushed it.

No.

I hadn't come this far just to be afraid. I straightened my shoulders. Beyond the sea of mist, I could feel it waiting for me.

The Spirit Tree.

It was there. And I was going to find it. I took my first step into the endless spirit realm.