LOGINElena’s POVMy heart skipped a beat. “What does that even mean? What business do you have with Zack that you're being nice to us?“Zack saved me. That's all that matters,” Kael said, focusing on the road ahead.That piece of information didn't sit right with me. Even children felt the awkwardness as they exchanged wary glances.I didn't think any sort of explanation would justify Zack’s actions. He knew exactly how Kael abused me, how I ran for my life, and he still went ahead to help him? How?Or was Kael just making things up? I didn't know what to believe anymore.Zack had spent his life fighting the dark corners of the supernatural world. The idea of him saving a ruthless, parasitic sorcerer like Kael felt like a puzzle piece from a completely different set. But Kael refused to elaborate, his gaunt face hardened into an unreadable mask as he led us up the rotting steps of the Rashford Manor.The manor was just as I remembered it: a crumbling, grand structure of dark cypress wood,
Elena’s POVEven though my children were grown and almost my height, I instinctively shielded them from my uncle, pulling them together behind me. My hand pressed back against Colin’s chest, feeling the heat radiating from him, while my other arm kept Cindy and Caleb pinned close."Uncle Kael, please. Don't look at my children that way. I only came here because I'm in dire need of your help," I said as my voice trembled slightly despite my desperate attempts to keep it steady.I never knew a day would come when I would have to face this monster again. Looking at him now, the damp swamp fog clung to his long coat like a shroud, my skin crawled with the ghosts of a hundred cold nights spent shivering in his cellar."Relax, Elena. I only want to meet my grand-nephews and niece. Quite the reunion, if you ask me," Kael said, his eyes glowing with a faint, oily yellow light that I couldn't quite place. His gaze flicked over my shoulder, lingering on the triplets, probably measuring their
Elena’s POVSoon enough, we arrived at Rashford territory; my childhood cage."Mom?" Cindy’s voice came from the back of the car seat. She had her knees pulled to her chest, her nose-canceling headphones resting around her neck. "The air... it feels thick. Like I’m breathing water.""It’s the swamp, baby," I said, my voice tighter than I wanted it to be. My hands were practically glued to the steering wheel, and my knuckles ached. "The water here absorbs the sound. It dampens everything. It’s... a quiet place."But it wasn't a peaceful quiet. It was the silence of a choked throat.In the rearview mirror, I saw Colin staring out the window at the dark, murky water flanking the road. The coppery glow in his skin had faded to a dull bronze. "The ground is soft," he muttered, his fingers twitching. "I can’t find a vein of iron or granite anywhere. It’s just mud. Decaying leaves. If I try to anchor us, the earth just... slips.""Don't try," I warned, my eyes darting to Caleb.My youngest t
Elena’s POV The explosion of golden-red light felt like a physical shockwave of absolute gravity that blew the breath straight out of my lungs. I was thrown backward onto the cold wall, the glare was so blinding it seared the back of my eyelids. I spun around, shielding the triplets behind my body. We were surrounded. The Synthetic wolves had stopped their frenzied attacks, standing in a silent, terrifying ring in front of us. Their red optical eyes pulsed in unison. Behind them stood the soldiers of Aesir Dynamics, their high-tech rifles pointed directly at my children. We were trapped, and there was no place left to go. The mountain’s surface had frozen back into solid stone, locking Colin and Cindy’s boots to the ground. "You have no business here, Dr. Willow," a woman said, her voice was smooth, almost disappointed. "You’ve played your part. But the contract has been validated." I clutched my iron wrench tightly, my knuckles aching. "Touch my children and I will tear th
Zack’s POV"I know!" I cried. "I know, Elena! I’ve lived with the guilt of it every single day!"A massive crack shattered the air. Colin’s wall exploded into a thousand fragments of flying stone. The Synthetics lunged through the gap, as their red eyes glowed in the dust, with their jaws wide.At the same moment, the ground beneath the triplets liquefied.The solid granite of the North Ridge began to turn into a swirling, hungry whirlpool of liquid black stone, pulling Colin, Cindy, and Caleb down. Caleb let out a terrified cry as the stone swallowed him up to his waist, his silver light violently being sucked down into the earth's crust."Mom! Dad!" Cindy screamed, her wind-shield collapsing as she sank into the ground. "It’s pulling us under! It’s heavy! It’s too heavy!"Elena lunged forward, trying to grab Cindy’s hand, but a Synthetic wolf cut her off, its titanium jaws snapped at her arm. She managed to dodge, but she was thrown back, away from the kids, pinned by the numerous s
Zack’s POVWith every pulse of the corporate rig, the mountain beneath our feet groaned like a waking beast pulling itself out of a deep grave. The sheer force of it made the soles of my boots thrum.And then, they fell from the sky.The first Synthetic wolf landed ten feet away with a bone-jarring metallic thud. It didn't slide or struggle for balance; its titanium claws bit directly into the ancient ground, leaving deep, silver scars in the rock. More followed, dropping from the cliffs like heavy rain. Their red optical sensors flickered in the dust, locking onto us."Colin, hold the line!" I roared, my voice barely cutting through the screaming wind.Colin took a step forward, his legs shaking under the sudden strain. He slammed his hands onto the earth. The coppery veins in his arms flared so bright they shone through his jacket, and a wall of stone erupted from the dirt, intercepting three lunging Synthetics. The impact sounded like artillery fire; shattered metal and cracking st
Zack’s POVI furrowed my brow, my confusion briefly overriding my desperation. "The mountain? What does that even mean? It's a rock.""The Silver-Crest house is built upon the bones of a sleeping god," the shaman explained, his voice growing solemn as he pointed to the granite wall behind him. "And
Zack’s POVMany years ago…"Young master! Young master, wake up! Please, you must wake up!"The voice didn't belong in my dream. It was too loud, too high-pitched, and filled with raw terror that tore me violently out of sleep. I sat up in my bed, my heart instantly hammering against my ribs.My ma
Cindy’s POVThe silence of my bedroom was a lie.To Mom and Dad, I was just a girl sitting on her bed with her eyes closed. They saw a peaceful house in Oakhaven. Every refrigerator hum in the neighborhood sounded like a jet engine, every heartbeat in the house next door sounded like a drum.I lea
Zack’s POVThe old quarry was a rough spot, a reminder of what happens when men take too much from the earth. A massive, oscillating rig was hammered into the floor, sending visible ripples of grey dust into the air with every pulse.But it wasn't the machinery that made my blood run cold. It was t







