جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 220

: The Mark of DarknessThe mark on Zara's arm pulsed then it went still.She stared at it, unable to decide whether the silence was a relief or a warning.Around her, the underground chamber continued collapsing. Large pieces of stone had already fallen across the entrance, and the silver circle that had contained the darkness was fading rapidly. Whatever protection the first guardian had created was disappearing with the prison itself.Kael was still on the ground. His breathing had steadied, but he looked exhausted. The black veins that had covered his body were almost completely gone, leaving only faint traces around his collarbone.For the first time since the darkness awakened, he looked like himself.Zara should have been relieved but Instead, she couldn't stop staring at her arm. The black mark had settled beneath her skin like ink.The first guardian approached slowly as her eyes fell on Zara's wrist. She didn't need to touch Zara to understand what had happened. “The darkness

The Voice WithinZara fell through the darkness beneath her. It felt like there was no sound or sense of direction. Only the strange feeling that she was falling through something that already knew her.She tried to reach for Kael, but her fingers closed around nothing. Then the voice came again."Don't let him open the door." It was the same voice, Zara's own voice.She spun around, though there was nothing to see. "Who are you?" Her voice disappeared into the darkness.For several seconds, there was no answer. Then a faint silver light appeared in the distance.Zara moved toward it, she didn't know why. Maybe because the darkness felt too familiar.The light grew brighter until she found herself standing in a forest. The white tree.Her breath caught, she knew this place. She had seen it in the memories beneath the Forgotten Path but this version was different.The tree was dying. Its silver leaves had turned black, and thick veins of darkness crawled across its trunk.Someone stoo

What Lives Inside HerZara couldn't breathe.Something had taken hold of her body, but it wasn't moving her like a puppet. It was worse than that. It felt like another presence had awakened inside her and was slowly stretching after years of sleep.Her fingers trembled, her knees weakened.Kael caught her before she fell. "Zara."She heard him, she knew his voice but it sounded far away.The second heartbeat continued. Thump. Thump. Thump. Each beat sent a pulse of darkness through the silver mark on her arm.The six guardians formed a circle around them, they raised their weapons up high in the air, but nobody attacked. They were afraid of hurting her.Zara understood that and she also hated it.She had spent too much of her life being treated like something fragile whenever people discovered there was more to her than they expected.She tried to push herself away from Kael but her body refused. The darkness tightened around her chest. Then a memory appeared.She was In the room. A s

The Price of the WolfFor several seconds, nobody moved. The words remained suspended in the chamber."Destroy the vessel's wolf."Zara stared at the symbol beneath her feet. This was her wolf. She didn't want to believe it. The thing that had been with her through every rejection, every humiliation, every moment she had been told she wasn't enough. The thought of losing it made something inside her tighten."No." Kael's answer came before she could speak. He stepped toward the Shadow King. "You don't get to decide that."The creature's red eyes shifted toward him. "I didn't." It looked at Zara. "She does."Zara hated that the ritual had been built around choice, that meant nobody could make the decision for her.The first king walked toward the platform. "There may be another way."The Shadow King laughed. "There is always another way."His gaze sharpened. "Until you discover what every other way costs."The old king ignored him, he studied the symbols."The ritual was created afte

The Kingdom of Shadows The first thing Zara heard was screaming.It rose from above them, muffled by layers of stone but unmistakable. The kingdom was in chaos.Zara pushed herself upright, coughing as dust filled her lungs. The chamber around them trembled again, sending small pieces of rock crashing from the ceiling.Kael was already on his feet. His hand went instinctively to his side where the old wound had never completely stopped aching. His breathing was uneven, and when he looked at Zara, the black veins beneath his skin had returned.Zara's stomach dropped. "Kael.""I'm fine." "You don't look fine."He glanced at the dark lines crawling toward his wrist and quickly pulled his sleeve over them. "I'm still standing."Before Zara could respond, the first Lycan King stepped toward them. His face had lost what little calmness remained. "We have to leave."The six guardians moved immediately.The passage behind them groaned as if the mountain itself were trying to swallow the ru