The air in the sanctuary had changed.
It wasn't just grief over Kira's death or tension from Davin's betrayal.
It was something colder. Heavier.
Like the walls themselves had gone silent.
Even the runes, which usually flickered with magic beneath our feet, had dimmed to a nervous glow. As if they were waiting.
Or hiding.
Rhydan stood at the edge of the courtyard, sharpening his blade in rhythmic silence. I watched him from the shadows of the corridor, my fingers curled tightly around the hem of my tunic.
He hadn't said much since Davin's arrest.
Neither had I.
We were both trying to pretend things had returned to normal.
But they hadn't.
Not even close.
And the worst part?
The dreams were back.
Worse this time.
I stood in a field of ash. Everything burned around me — trees, grass, the sky itself.
A woman stood in front of me. Tall. Hair like mine. Eyes white with power.
"You're not strong enough," she said.
"I'm trying."
"Trying gets people killed."
"I stopped Davin. I protected Rhydan—"
She snarled, stepping forward. "You think this is about him? You're clinging to a boy when the world is cracking beneath your feet. There is no room for love in fire."
I took a step back. "Who are you?"
But I already knew.
She was me.
Or the version of me I might become.
I woke with a gasp, sweat slicked across my back.
The torches in my room had blown out.
Again.
The air was freezing. My breath fogged.
Something was wrong.
I grabbed my cloak and moved quickly down the hallway.
And that's when I heard it.
A low, whispering chant.
Words in a tongue older than the wolves.
It came from beneath the sanctuary.
From the prison chamber.
Where Davin was supposed to be.
The cells were empty.
No guards. No footsteps. No sound.
Except the faint scraping of stone.
I descended the spiral stairs slowly, heart thudding louder with each step.
And then I saw it.
The prison door lay open.
Inside the cell, there was no Davin.
Only blood.
And a message carved into the wall with fingernails:
"One flame is never enough."
I turned and ran.
Straight into Rhydan.
His eyes widened at the look on my face.
"He's gone," I gasped.
"What?"
"Davin. He escaped. And someone helped him. Someone inside."
He cursed under his breath. "The elders swore he was locked down."
"Then one of them lied."
He grabbed my arm. "We need to move. Now."
"Where?"
"To the eastern caves. That's where the Hollow Howler was first bound. If Davin's trying to finish the ritual—"
"He'll go there."
We didn't wait.
The wind howled as we moved through the forest, night pressing hard against us. Shadows twisted between the trees, too fast to track.
"Do you hear that?" I asked.
He nodded. "They're not wolves."
"Then what are they?"
"Spirits."
The caves loomed ahead like a wound in the cliffside. Cold mist bled from the entrance.
Rhydan held my hand tightly as we stepped inside. "Stay close."
We moved deeper, the air growing heavier with each step.
And then we saw him.
Davin stood at the heart of the cave, arms outstretched, chanting in the language of the Ancients. Blood poured from cuts on his forearms. The runes on the cave walls glowed violently — not silver, not gold.
But black.
A second figure stood beside him.
My breath caught.
"No…"
It was Elder Cael — the same one who accused me at Kira's death.
"I knew it," I whispered.
Cael smiled faintly. "You were never meant to survive. Your power was to be redirected. Into something useful."
"You wanted to use me to summon that thing?"
"It's already here," Davin said. "We just needed you to break first."
And suddenly — pain exploded in my chest.
I staggered back.
Rhydan caught me. "What's happening?!"
"I don't know— I—"
Then I saw it.
A tether.
From my heart to the center of the ritual circle.
They were pulling my power.
Using the fire in me to feed the Hollow Howler's prison.
I screamed.
And the world shattered.
Fire erupted from my body — not golden, not white.
But blue.
Cold fire.
Uncontrolled. Screaming.
The cave cracked. Rocks exploded. Davin and Cael were flung back like paper.
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't stop it.
"RHYDAN!" I screamed.
He grabbed me, pulling me against him, his arms locking around my waist.
"You have to ground it!" he shouted.
"I CAN'T!"
"You have to! Think of something real! Something good!"
I closed my eyes.
I thought of Rhydan's hands in mine. His kiss. His warmth.
I thought of Kira's laugh. My mother's voice.
I thought of me, that little girl crying behind the foster home who had always dreamed of being something more.
And slowly…
The fire calmed.
When I opened my eyes, the ritual circle was broken.
Davin and Cael were unconscious.
The tether was gone.
And Rhydan was still holding me.
"You did it," he whispered.
"No," I said, trembling. "We did."
Back in the sanctuary, the Council gathered.
Cael and Davin were imprisoned in iron cells blessed by old magic.
And I stood before the wolves who once doubted me.
"I won't be your weapon," I told them. "And I won't be your warning."
One of the elders nodded slowly. "What will you be then?"
I looked at Rhydan.
At the fire now resting quietly beneath my skin.
And I said:
"Alpha."