The Lycan King’s Broken Mate
For a heartbeat the light is blinding, and at the center of the hall the membrane of the moon-circle issues a low, booming note, as if to say: enough.
“Now!” Rhaell cuts in, and the middle circle releases a new sound, a fourth note they had held in reserve. It is the “counter-breath,” learned from those who dwelt beneath the mountains. And the smoke, which had moved by its own rule, stumbles suddenly, as if compressed and expanded at once. In that confusion comes a sharp, clanging chime from outside. Once. Again. Then three quick times in succession.
“North!” the word leaps from my mouth before I finish it, and across the mirror flashes light: shadow-wolves among the pines, crossing the moat