The valley fell quiet.Not the silence of peace, but the silence of exhaustion—the heavy, ringing quiet that follows violence when the last blow has been struck and no one has the strength to cheer. Bodies lay scattered across the snow, some shifting back to human form as the crimson light faded from their eyes. Others didn't move at all.I knelt beside Richard, my hand still wrapped around his. The mark on my palm had dimmed to a faint silver thread, barely visible against my skin. Whatever power had moved through me in that final moment was gone now, spent like a wave breaking against stone.Richard stared at the sky. His chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths. The crimson veins had receded completely, leaving only the pale, bruised skin of a man who had spent six years feeding a monster inside himself."Chelsea," he whispered.She crawled forward, snow clinging to her torn clothes. Her face was wet, though I couldn't tell if it was from tears or melting snow. She hovered ov
Last Updated : 2026-09-14
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