The gate loomed over me, its arch of bone humming with a low, steady vibration that sank into my chest. The red runes strung between the twin wolf skulls flared with each pulse, their glow linking with the shard in my chest until I couldn't tell where their rhythm ended and mine began.
Aria lay just behind me, barely conscious. Her glow had all but vanished, and every time the runes flared, the black curse-mark on her skin pulsed like a second heartbeat, dragging her closer to the edge.
If I didn't open that gate soon, it wouldn't just drain her energy. It would take her entirely.
The shard knew it. It beat harder, faster, spilling more heat into my veins. Each pulse was a wordless urge, growing clearer, heavier:
Unchain. Break. Take.
I could feel it crawling deeper beneath my skin, rooting itself into my bones. My wolf didn't fight it anymore. It welcomed the burn, its growl vibrating through my chest like a second voice.
Lyra stood off to the side, watching. She didn't draw her blade this time. Her gaze lingered on me, not with fear or concern, but with a faint, knowing smirk. "The gate won't open for strength alone," she said. "It needs a cost. The shard understands that. Do you?"
I tore my gaze from the runes, the heat in my chest flaring hotter at her words. "And what cost does it want?"
Lyra's smile sharpened. "Pieces of you. Control. Maybe sanity. Maybe worse. The Veil doesn't give without taking first." She tilted her head slightly. "If you want the girl to live, you'll have to bleed something more than blood."
The shard pulsed again, harder. My claws dug into the soil as heat surged up my spine, my vision flickering crimson. The runes above the gate flared brighter, responding like they knew I was close to giving in.
Behind me, Aria stirred, her hand twitching weakly toward mine. Her voice was hoarse, broken. "Kael… don't… lose yourself. Not for me."
But as I looked at her—skin pale, lips trembling, her pulse faint—I knew the choice wasn't as simple as she wanted it to be.
If I held back, she wouldn't last another minute.
If I gave in… I might not come back.
The whispers inside my head grew into a roar. The shard pulsed like a living thing, and for a heartbeat, I felt something more than hunger from it. Anticipation.
The runes above cracked, faint lines of light spidering through them, as if waiting for my answer.
I exhaled slowly, my breath steaming in the Veil's cold air. My claws flexed once, sinking into the soil.
And I stepped forward, the shard burning hotter than it ever had before.
"Then take it," I growled under my breath. "Whatever it needs… take it."
The ground trembled as the shard's energy erupted outward, a surge of black and red flames spiraling around me. The runes shattered, one by one, their light breaking into shards that dissolved into the air like sparks. The twin skulls above the gate let out a low, echoing howl as the massive doors behind them groaned and began to open.
But as the gate creaked wider, the heat inside me didn't fade. It surged, wild and unrestrained, spreading up my neck and into my skull until my vision dimmed. My claws lengthened, my breath came in ragged growls, and for a fleeting moment, I felt the shard—not as a weapon, but as a mind.
A voice—not a whisper this time, but clear—spoke inside my head.
Step through, wolf. And leave the rest of you behind.
The gate yawned wide, revealing a corridor of pure darkness beyond. The air that poured out carried no wind, only a deep, resonant hum that made my bones ache.
Behind me, Aria gasped softly, her curse-mark dimming now that the gate was open. She clung weakly to my arm, whispering, "Kael… don't… disappear."
I stared into the dark, the shard's heat clawing deeper, and knew the next step would decide more than the gate.
It would decide whether Kael, the wolf, still existed when we left this place.