101 - Dragon

The grey Alpha wolf that had dared invade my territory was defeated and his forces scattered through forests beyond the city. Another time we’d hunt them down and ensure they never returned, but with the roar of a dragon erupting behind us, there were more important things to attend to. My paws don’t feel my own for a moment, clumsy with the primal fear that rips through my body. A fear that I ignore, with Kilak growling his agreement within my thoughts we charge back towards the tournament fields, the city and the besieged wall that protects the people of Soln.The white light of the Dragon’s emergence had scorched the air, leaving behind the ozone-heavy scent of overtaxed spells and the sour, parasitic rot of Valerius’s true nature. I was a mountain of dark fur and unrestrained instinct once more, my paws digging into the grit of the earth as the magical integrity of the land pulsed, faint and dying, beneath my claws.Between the gathered wolves and the wall, stands the dragon, a hu

102 - Jade Scales

The grit of the parapet stone was the first thing I felt, pressing into my cheek like a thousand tiny needles. My lungs burned, each breath tasting of the sulfurous ash and the biting chill that Valerius had unleashed upon Illure. For a heartbeat, the world was nothing but a chaotic vibration of stone beneath me and the distant, discordant screech of magic tearing at the city’s walls.I tried to push myself up, but my limbs felt heavy, anchored by a lingering, ancient weight. My vision was a blurred tapestry of grey and obsidian, until a sudden, sharp pulse of light flared behind my eyelids.It wasn't the suffocating, parasitic dark of the Duke’s magic. This was something else.A wash of cooling emerald light began to ripple through my veins, chasing away the localized winter that had settled into my bones. It felt like the first breath of spring after a century of frost, a wave of relief that hummed with the frequency of the land itself. It was the magic of the runes, the ancient pro

103 - No More Secrets

With the adrenaline from the battle fading, I felt uncertain in the body that had felt so familiar. The ground was still warm, a phantom heat rising from the stone where my scales had pressed only moments before. I moved with a gait that felt foreign, my limbs too heavy and cumbersome against the heavy air. My gaze was shaper, I could see the outline of magic everywhere I looked, spilling forth from the ground like glitter rising over the landscape. As though Valerius had been a sponge, pulling it into his form. His tendrils had extended through souls and into the depths of the ground itself. But he had failed in his coup to take Illure. I couldn’t stay here, in this form. Every twitch of my wings, every subtle movement of my tail saw the nearest soldiers scampering away. They were joined by Boren, working side by side without concern as they tended to the wounded, collected the dead and placed those who had fought against us, under arrest. Yet Boren and Illure alike looked askance a

104 - Elders

Thade carried me back to the city walls, through the gate and to the Palace itself. The journey was blurry, my consciousness struggling to maintain control and stay awake as the sheer force of the Dragon within retreated once more. I dreamt on and off in the safety of his arms, surrounded by wolves, bears, cats and walking trees. A knight on horseback followed us, metal armour stained with blood and beaten through battle. In my dreams I was flying, not the handful of wing beats that had happened in my battle with Valerius, but drifting endlessly over mountains. The sky was a canvas of bruising purples and infinite gold, and beneath me, the world was a quilt of jagged peaks and deep, shadowed valleys. I could taste the wind, the scent of pine and ancient stone sharper than any breath I’d ever drawn in human form. My wings, vast and powerful, caught the updrafts with a familiarity that made my human bones ache with a phantom hunger.‘You are small, little one,’ a voice resonated, not

105 - Marked

Thade’s PovI followed Cynan in her pursuit of Moira, warning my long time companion of the Elder Wolf's intention to play match-maker.Tell her I’m not interested, Moira replied, terse.I have, I reply and force a smile down at the wiry woman as she glares at me. Her disappointment in my not marking Lana, apparent whenever she looks in my direction.‘You can’t interfere with the plans of the Goddess,’ Cynan tells me, curling her frail hand over my arm, ‘you may as well stop trying and make your claim on your beautiful wife,’ she gives me a knowing look and I restrain myself with a slow breath.Moira, she’s trailing you. She is determined! I warn and relax as Moira steps out from a nearby room, crust of bread in her hand. Her expression blank as she looks at us both before shaking her head.‘Come on then,’ she sighs and gestures to Cynan, ‘you may as well tell me, Elder - whatever it is you want to tell me. I know I’ll never hear the end of it otherwise.’Cynan detaches from my arm, m

106 - One Year Later

Lana’s POV The sun warmed the stone of the courtyard, a gentle, golden contrast to the cold, shifting shadows that still haunted the edges of my mind. It was a rare, quiet afternoon, the kind that felt fragile, like spun glass. My son, little more than a bundle of energy and curiosity, sat on the thick blanket I had spread out for him. He wobbled, his small, chubby hands splayed out to keep his balance as he successfully, and with great effort, propped himself upright.'There you go,' I whispered, my heart swelling with a fierce, protective ache that never quite faded.He didn’t answer, of course, too occupied with the treasures I’d given him. He grabbed a chunky model of a wolf, its carved wooden fur worn smooth by his persistent, gum-heavy gnawing. It was a strange toy for a babe, perhaps, but fitting given the blood that ran through his father’s veins. He brought it up to his mouth, then paused, his grey eyes, so like Thade’s, shifting toward a smaller, sturdier horse. With a grun