The Wolf's Game
Snow falls from the sky, falling on the shoulders of the residents who are now staring at me with wide eyes.
“It spoke to you,” one of them breathes.
I shake my head. “No.”
The truth settles slowly, terrifying and quiet, but I lie anyway. The truth is too much for me to bear.
“It didn’t speak to me.”
The stone hums again, low and steady, recognizing my lie.
“It recognized me.”
Kael’s grip tightens, but the crack does not close. It remains as thin, deliberate, and alive.
It is the first fracture. I know there will be more. It didn’t appear in chaos or violence. Instead, it showed that what lies beneath the stones is not sleeping.