The healing room smelled like lavender and death.
Liam still hadn't stirred.
His skin was bone white, even for him, and bandages were wrapped tight around the place his arm used to be. Wolf healers worked tirelessly, dousing him in elixirs, ancient salves, and whispered prayers, but still, his eyes refused to open.
Rhiannan stood over him, fingers trembling as she brushed a lock of hair from his forehead.
"You stupid, beautiful bastard," she whispered. "You were trying to save the pups."
Her chest tightened. He was comic relief. Her dark jester. Her inappropriate, undead pain in the ass.
And now he was silent.
She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his cheek, letting it linger. "You're not allowed to die. That's an order. When this is over, I want to hear you crack a joke about how you fought a hellspawn and still looked hot doing it."
Rhiannan straightened, her face steel. Her heart burned with purpose.
"I will make him pay." She whispered forcefully.
The pack dungeon was full of candlelight and tension.
The ingredients had been gathered and laid out like a witch's feast, scales, teeth, feathers, ancient salts, enchanted bloodstone. The cauldron in the center bubbled with something thick and purple, boiling even though there was no fire beneath it.
Rhiannan padded barefoot into the room, her body moving with ethereal grace.
Sable stiffened, breath hitching. "She looks like a fucking enchantress."
"She is," Elisha muttered, licking his bottom lip, eyes wide.
Kaleb, arms crossed, grumbled, "You say that like it's a good thing."
Rhiannan didn't respond. She was somewhere else now, her eyes glazed, movements fluid and ancient.
One by one, she lit candles in a wide circle around the cauldron...
Red for rage.
Black for vengeance.
Silver for truth.
Green for protection.
Blue for clarity.
Gold for divine justice.
The flames danced high, almost unnaturally tall, casting wild shadows across the stone walls.
Sable leaned into Kaleb with a grin. "I'm gonna make her a necklace from that fucker's teeth."
"If he even has teeth," Kaleb replied grimly.
"Oh, I'll find something. Maybe a horn. A claw. A spleen." He muttered.
Rhiannan reached for a silver athame, the blade glowing with old, celestial markings. She sliced across her palm without flinching and held it over the cauldron. Her blood sizzled as it hit the potion, and a sudden wind swept through the dungeon despite the sealed stone walls.
She swayed, eyes rolling back, and began speaking in a language none of them recognized. Not even Elisha.
"She's channeling something," Arwen whispered.
"She's not alone in there," Elisha agreed, his hand on his sword hilt, just in case.
The potion flashed bright violet, then calmed to a slow shimmer like liquid starlight.
Rhiannan stepped back, lips parted. She grabbed a thick glass vial and filled it with the glowing concoction, then walked...no, glided...to the restrained shadow beast.
Without hesitation, she pried its mouth open and poured the glowing liquid down its throat.
Silence.
One second. Two. Three...
Boom.
A crack of silver lightning exploded from the creature's chest. A glowing thread of magic snapped into the air, winding upward and through the dungeon ceiling like a signal beacon only they could see.
It vibrated with purpose.
"There," Rhiannan said coldly. "That's our road to that shadow dicked bitch. And he doesn't even know we're coming."
Her smile was terrifying.
"What if it's a trap?" Kaleb snapped. "What if he does know?"
"We're walking into his fucking playground," Arwen growled. "This isn't strategy, it's suicide."
"I'm not letting her go in there alone," Elisha snarled. "But we need time. We're not ready."
"You don't believe in me," Rhiannan whispered.
The room fell quiet.
Her voice was heartbreak and steel. "You think I'm some fragile goddess who needs you to save her. That I can't hold my own."
"No, that's not..." Sable started, but she was already gone.
She appeared at Liam's side in a blur of wind and silver streaks, vamp speed warping the air.
She clutched his uninjured hand, heart thundering.
"Why do I even have mates," she whispered, "if they don't believe I can burn this whole fucking world to the ground?"
Her tears dropped onto his hand.
And then...
His fingers twitched.
His lips parted.
"'Course you can, love," he rasped, his voice weak but smug. "That's why I like you."
She choked on a laugh and sob, pressing her forehead to his.
"You scared the shit outta me."
"I tend to do that."
"You're still getting your ass kicked for making me cry."
Liam cracked one eye. "Fair enough. Just... make sure I'm fully conscious for it."
She grinned, wiped her tears, kissed his lips with fire, and stood, her eyes sparkling with joy. Liam was ok. They would be ok.
Her fury was no longer heavy.
It was divine.