The winds that roared through the lofty mountain peaks of Silverwind had lost their purity.
Roman sensed it as soon as his boots touched the hallowed ground of his native land—the decay beneath the roots, the tense silence of the forest, the way the gatekeepers avoided making eye contact.
Silverwind was different.
With her keen senses, Serafina moved like a shadow next to him. She no longer appeared to be a girl plagued by prophecy, but rather moved like a storm approaching while wearing obsidian leathers and her mother's silver-cloaked crest.
As they passed the ancient prayer stones, Roman whispered, "Three council members have been meeting in secret." They were devoted to my dad. However, they have been too silent lately. Too amiable. That is never encouraging.
"There was a power vacuum after your father passed away," Serafina said, keeping up. "And a void is a favorite of corruption."
Roman nodded firmly. He hadn't come back to weep. He had come back to purify what was rightfully his.
The air inside the ancestral Hall of Judgement was heavy with deceit and incense. Members of the council, wearing robes with silver trim, sat in their crescent circle. When Roman walked in, everyone except three bowed respectfully.
Brann, the councilor.
Thorne, Elder.
Myra, the High Seeress.
Their gaze was too motionless. Too cautious.
Roman positioned himself in the middle of the stone dais. "I invoke the Rite of Silver Reckoning as your legitimate Alpha."
The hall reverberated with gasps. For more than a century, the ceremony had not been performed.
"For what reasons?" Standing, Councilor Brann demanded.
Serafina stepped forward and calmly responded, "On suspicion of treason." "And hanging around with the shadows of the Hollow Alpha."
The hall was now a flurry of activity.
"You accuse us with a Luna pup?" Thorne spit.
Roman snarled, "She's more wolf than you all put together." "Silence."
He produced a scroll from inside his coat, records that Leah had decoded and which showed confidential communications between the Hollow Alpha-marked rogue emissaries and the Silverwind council.
On the stone floor, he tossed it.
Myra's mouth twisted. "You're terrified. The Hollow is unavoidable, you know.
Roman had silver eyes. "No. I am aware that he is not divine. And by bowing down to a monster, you have disgraced our forefathers.
The truthbinding circle engraved in the dais was activated by Serafina's flick of her hand, which caused the crescent council seal to shimmer. The floor burst into golden chains of light that encircled Brann, Thorne, and Myra.
"Make a vow of allegiance to Silverwind," she said icily. "Or face judgment."
Myra growled. "You think we'll be bound by old tricks? We've been marked already.
Then her eyes darkened.
corrupted.
Roman made no hesitation. A guttural snarl erupted from his wolf form as he shifted in midair. The battle was swift, vicious, and decisive. Thorne was the first to fall, the truthbinding undoing his magic. Brann attempted to flee, but Serafina's dagger struck his throat with remarkable accuracy.
Myra was the only one left, laughing as the darkness engulfed her.
She crooned, "The Hollow is already in your bloodline, but you can kill the messengers."
With clawed hands and a growling voice, Roman slammed her to the ground. "I'll burn the bloodline clean after that."
He drove the Flame Sigil, freshly engraved on his bracer, into her chest with a roar. Light burst forth.
There was silence.
Myra was gone, reduced to ash when it cleared.
With her hand still glowing faintly from channeling the rite, Serafina stood panting. "That's three."
Roman stood up straight, his hands still covered in blood. "The council as a whole is clean. For the time being.
He looked in her direction.
"Are you going to stay? Assist in Silverwind's reconstruction?
Serafina turned to face the open sky above them, where storm clouds and moonlight stretched across the horizon.
"I'll assist you," she stated firmly. But I'm not going to stay. The Hollow is where my path leads. Additionally, I am being called by the Flame Sigil.
Roman's mouth clenched. "After that, we go together."