Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 71 - Chapitre 80

"Check the roots, Kaelor. This willow isn't just growing; it's hiding something."Aradaa’s voice cracked, a dry rasp that barely carried over the whistle of the wind. He leaned his weight against the massive, gnarled trunk of the weeping willow, his fingers digging into the bark. The tree was a freak of nature in this wasteland, its long, sweeping branches forming a curtain of silver-grey leaves that scraped against the parched earth."I don’t care what it’s hiding as long as it blocks the thermal sensors," Kaelor grunted. He stepped through the curtain of leaves, his boots sinking into a thick carpet of white ash. He didn't look at the tree. He looked at the horizon, where the sky was still stained with the bruised purple of Malachi’s receding influence. His jaw remained locked, a hard line of muscle jumping in his cheek."The ground is hollow here." Aradaa dropped to his knees, his hands sweeping away the ash. Beneath the grey dust lay a slab of smooth, iridescent stone. It hummed.

"Drop the shield, Aradaa! They’re already inside the perimeter!"Kaelor’s roar was nearly swallowed by the screech of grinding stone. He slammed his shoulder into a falling archway, the obsidian cracking under the force of his Alpha-boosted strength. Dust and white ash swirled in the air, coating his sweat-slicked chest. Above them, the sky over the Shadow-Peaks had turned a bruised, electric indigo."I can't drop it without venting the feedback!" Aradaa’s palms were pressed flat against a humming ritual stone. Prismatic violet light arced from the rock into his fingertips, tracing glowing jagged lines up his arms. His teeth ground together so hard a thin trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. "If I let go now, the whole mountain side detonates!""Then let it blow! Just get the f**k back!"Kaelor lunged. He grabbed Aradaa by the waist, his massive arms locking around the smaller man’s torso. He yanked him backward just as the ritual stone shattered into a million white-

"Shift or get out of the way! We aren’t waiting for the tide to swallow us!"Kaelor’s voice ripped through the thick, sulfurous fog of the Delta. He didn't look back. He grabbed Aradaa’s wrist, hauling him through knee-deep muck that smelled of rotted vegetation and old copper. The marsh water hissed against their legs. Every step was a heavy, suction-filled struggle. Behind them, the shadows of the reeds didn't just sway; they twitched with predatory intent."Kaelor, the energy here... it’s dampening the Siphon," Aradaa panted. He stumbled, his boots catching on a submerged root. His face was pale, the bone-white hair matted with swamp grime. "I can't feel the beacon. The Delta is eating the frequency.""Good! If you can't feel it, those cat-b*stards can't track us as easy." Kaelor stopped suddenly, his ears flattening against his skull. He shoved Aradaa behind a cluster of jagged, black mangroves. "Down. Now."A silver blade whistled through the space where Kaelor’s head had been a

"Die already, Kaelor."Vladya’s voice was a dry rattle. He didn't wait. He lunged. A silver-tipped dagger whistled through the fog, carving a red line across Kaelor’s cheek. Kaelor didn't flinch. He spat a mouthful of bloody phlegm into the muck."You're slower than I remember, Vlad." Kaelor swung the Lunar Dagger. The obsidian blade caught the silver, sparks flying into the grey mist. "Hecate didn't give you your speed back. Just the rot.""She gave me the truth." Vladya’s eyes were dead pits. He spun, his movements a jagged, supernatural blur. He kicked Kaelor’s knee. The bone popped. Kaelor went down in the mud. "You left me. The rocks... they were so heavy, Kaelor. I heard your heartbeat fading as you ran.""I thought you were dead!" Kaelor roared. He tried to lunge from the ground, but Vladya stepped back.The second dagger found Kaelor’s shoulder. Silver. The Alpha’s skin hissed. The smell of burning hair and meat filled the small clearing. Kaelor’s jaw creaked. His knuckles tur

"Shut your mouth, Hecate! You aren't taking a single scrap of him!"Kaelor’s voice ripped through the sulfurous air, thick with blood. He slammed his fist into the mud. Hard. The silver-tipped daggers buried in his thigh and shoulder pulsed with a sick light, but he didn't scream. He ground his teeth until they groaned. His knuckles turned a bloodless white."You're in no position to negotiate, Alpha," Hecate whispered. She drifted closer to the obsidian slab, her smoke-trail stained with the violet hum of the siphon. "Look at you. You’re a rug. A mess of meat and failure.""I'm the one who’s going to tear your throat out." Kaelor gripped the hilt of the silver blade in his leg. His hand shook. He yanked it. A fountain of hot, dark red sprayed the ash-covered ground."Kaelor, don't!" Aradaa screamed from the coffin. "The bargain—she’ll kill you if you fight it!""The bargain is shit!" Kaelor hauled himself up. His knee popped. His Achilles tendon hissed. He didn't care. He looked at A