جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 20

‎ ‎SYLARI ‎ I stood at the window longer than I needed to. The last torch from my father's pack had disappeared into the trees a while ago, but I kept staring north anyway. My fingers hurt from holding the sill so tight. The courtyard below was a mess—bodies scattered in the snow, blood frozen in dark patches, broken weapons left where they fell. The wolves had run. I waited for relief or something to hit me, but nothing did. Just this heavy quiet inside. I kept thinking about how easy it would have been for them to win if that light hadn't come from me. I didn't know if that made me feel strong or more trapped than ever. My mind kept going back to the way the howls stopped the second the light started. Like they felt it too. Like they knew something was wrong with me. The door opened behind me. I knew it was Kaelith from his steps. Quiet, steady, no rush. I turned. He stood in the doorway, his armor scratched and bloody, a deep cut on his forearm still leaking. His hair wa

SYLARI I barely slept. Every time I started to drift off, the hunger would whisper my name and I’d jolt awake with my chest burning and my fingers twisted in the sheets. By the time the gray morning light started creeping through the window, I gave up trying. My whole body ached like I had been beaten. Not from wounds, those had healed, but from something deeper. A knock came at the door—three sharp raps. "It's me," Kaelith said from the other side. I opened it. He looked put together as always, he had fresh clothes, his hair was tied back, and that cut on his cheek was already fading. His eyes moved over me quickly, checking for damage, then he nodded toward the hall. "The library is ready." No asking how I slept. No small talk. I appreciated that more than I probably should have. The library was behind a set of heavy doors at the end of a corridor I hadn't seen before. The room was massive, with bookshelves climbing all the way to the ceiling and a fire crackling low in a

SYLARI I didn't go to my room. Not right away. Instead, I wandered through the palace halls, not really paying attention to where I was going. Servants moved past me with their heads down and guards stood at their posts without making eye contact. Word had spread about what happened during the battle. About the light. About me. Good. Let them be scared. At least that way they'd leave me alone. I ended up in a courtyard I hadn't seen before. Smaller than the main one, with high walls covered in some climbing vine that had gone brown and dead from the cold. A frozen fountain sat in the center, the water turned to solid ice in the shape of falling droplets. Snow covered everything else, untouched except for a single set of footprints leading to a stone bench near the far wall. The footprints weren't mine. I followed them anyway. Sat down on the bench even though the cold seeped through my clothes immediately. My breath came out in white clouds. The sky above was heavy and gray, th

SYLARI The horses were ready by the time I reached the courtyard. Ten riders in dark leather armor, their faces hard and focused. Lirael stood at the front, checking weapons and supplies with quick, efficient movements. Kaelith was already mounted on a pale gray stallion, his silver hair tied back, his jaw tight. He watched me approach but didn't say anything. Just waited while I climbed onto the black mare a stable hand brought over. The horse was smaller than the others but fast-looking, with intelligent eyes that tracked my every movement. "Her name is Mira," the stable hand said quietly. "She's the quickest we have. She'll get you where you need to go." I nodded my thanks and settled into the saddle. The leather creaked under me. My thighs already ached from yesterday's riding lessons with Kaelith, but I ignored them. There were worse things than sore muscles waiting for me in the Thornwood. Kaelith raised his hand and the gates swung open. Cold air rushed in, the forest bey

SYLARI Riko moved first. He shifted mid-stride, his bones cracking, his fur exploding across his skin. His wolf form was massive—dark brown with a white streak down his chest, his teeth bared in a snarl that would have terrified me a month ago. It didn't terrify me now. I slammed into him before he finished the transformation. The silver light around me flared brighter and he yelped, the sound high and pained. His half-formed body hit the ground hard. I didn't stop, I didn't think, I just kept moving toward the platform where Tessa was kneeling. Daren came at me from the side. He had shifted fully, his wolf sleek and gray, faster than Riko but smaller. His jaws snapped at my arm and I twisted away at the last second. His teeth caught my sleeve instead of my skin, and the fabric tore. I brought my elbow down on the back of his skull and he dropped. The hunger sang in my chest. It wanted more, it wanted blood, it wanted to tear them apart the way they had torn me apart all those y