Jude’s POVThe room was dark but not empty. The air itself seemed to thicken as I began the old incantation, my voice low and precise.Xalor stood behind me, silent. He knew better than to interrupt a ritual of the Calling.I placed the four vials in a perfect circle on the floor, their contents pulsing faintly under the moonlight spilling through the window.One for Dante, Lord of Northern Dominion Thorns.One for Selene, the Crimson Matron.One for Akira, the Bone King.I hadn’t spoken some of their names in decades. Some I hadn’t seen since the Great Sealing. Some I’d rather never see again.Still, I needed them now.I took the dagger, slit my palm, and let the blood fall into the center of the circle. As it hit the floor, the runes beneath the wood glowed, coming alive with light that wasn’t fire. It moved like water, hissed like smoke.“Through pact and past, by bond and bane,” I whispered.“I call to the Lords of the Eternal Night.From blood and bone, from ruin and rite,Answer
Last Updated : 2025-07-26 Read more