Thessa's POV
The laughing gets louder.
It's not a human laugh. Not a wolf laugh. It's something wrong and ancient that makes my bones vibrate and my teeth ache.
"What is that?" I demand, but I already know the answer won't be good.
Erynd's face has gone completely white. "The Shadow King. The first wolf to ever try stealing divine power. Before Cadeirin. Before anyone. He was the prototype. The original sin."
"The Moon sealed him three thousand years ago," the false goddess adds, backing away from the spreading cracks. "Used almost all her power to trap him in a prison beneath these ruins. And then, weakened from that battle, she was vulnerable when Cadeirin and his followers attacked. She couldn't fight them at full strength."
"So Cadeirin didn't really kill her," I whisper. "He just finished what this Shadow King started."
"Exactly." She smiles grimly. "And now you've gone and absorbed all her power, all her essence. The same power that was keeping his prison sealed."
The floor splits open with a sound like the world breaking.
Darkness pours out of the crack. Not shadow—actual darkness. The kind that swallows light and hope and everything good.
"Everyone RUN!" Erynd grabs my arm, but I'm frozen, staring at the impossible thing rising from below.
It has the shape of a wolf, but bigger than any wolf should be. Made entirely of that living darkness that hurts to look at. And its eyes—red as fresh blood, burning with hatred so old it makes my power feel like a candle next to the sun.
"Finally," the Shadow King's voice rumbles through the chamber, making the walls crack further. "Three thousand years in that pit. Three thousand years of hunger. Of rage. Of planning exactly how I'll destroy this world when I break free."
His massive head turns toward me, those red eyes fixing on my glowing form.
"And you. You foolish little girl. You thought absorbing the Moon's essence would make you strong?" He laughs again, and more of the ceiling collapses. "All you did was unlock my cage. The bars were made of her power. And the moment you took that power into yourself, you weakened them enough for me to break through."
"Thessa, we have to go NOW!" Erynd pulls harder but I still can't move.
Because I understand what's happening. What I've done.
I didn't just become a goddess. I accidentally freed something far worse.
"This is my fault," I whisper.
"We can assign blame later!" Erynd shouts. "Right now we need to—"
The Shadow King moves faster than something that size should. One moment he's rising from the pit. The next he's lunging straight at me, jaws open impossibly wide, ready to swallow me whole.
Erynd throws himself between us.
The Shadow King's teeth close around Erynd's torso instead of mine.
"NO!" I scream.
But instead of tearing Erynd apart, the Shadow King pauses. His red eyes narrow.
"Interesting," he rumbles around Erynd's body. "You taste like ancient magic. Like oath-binding. Like..." He drops Erynd roughly to the ground. "Like immortality granted by the Moon herself. You're her guardian."
Erynd coughs, blood on his lips but somehow still alive. "And you're still sealed. This is just a projection. You're not fully free yet."
The Shadow King's form flickers slightly, confirming Erynd's words. "True. I need more time. More power. More..." Those red eyes lock back on me. "More of her essence. Give it to me willingly, little Moon. Let me consume what you carry. And I'll make your death quick instead of letting you watch me destroy everyone you've ever known."
"Don't," Erynd gasps from the ground. "Whatever you do, don't let him—"
"Oh, shut up." The Shadow King's paw pins Erynd down, crushing him against the ice. "I'm talking to the goddess, not her pet."
Rage floods through me. Hot and fierce and powerful.
"Get off him!" Silver light explodes from my hands, hitting the Shadow King square in his dark form.
He barely flinches. "That tickles. Is that really your best? The Moon must be ashamed to have chosen such a weak vessel."
"I'm not a vessel!" I throw more power at him. It passes through his shadowy body like it's not even there. "And she's not ashamed. She chose me for a reason!"
"Did she? Or did she just get desperate?" He presses down harder on Erynd, who screams. "Tell me, little Moon. How long have you actually been a goddess? Three days? Four? Meanwhile I've been perfecting the art of stealing divine power for three millennia. Who do you think is more qualified?"
My power keeps hitting him and doing nothing. He's right. I'm too new at this. Too untrained.
I look around desperately. Maren and her army are gone—fled the moment the Shadow King appeared. The false goddess is backing toward an exit. Even Cadeirin's wolves are running.
Everyone's abandoning us to face this monster alone.
"Thessa." Erynd's voice is weak. "Listen to me. You can't fight him. Not like this. Not directly."
"Then what do I do?"
"Run. Get out of the ruins. Put as much distance as you can between—" He coughs blood. "Between you and him. He can't fully manifest while I'm still alive. My oath binds part of his prison. As long as I'm breathing, he's trapped in this chamber."
"Then I'll keep you alive!" I try to hit the Shadow King again but my power is useless against him.
"You can't. He's going to kill me. It's the only way he can break free." Erynd meets my eyes, and there's acceptance in his silver gaze. "But you can live. You can escape. Find other divine beings to teach you. Come back stronger. Come back when you can actually fight him."
"I'm not leaving you!"
"You have to!" He coughs again, more blood. "If you stay, if he kills us both, there's no one left to stop him. The whole world dies. But if you run—"
"If she runs, I'll hunt her down eventually," the Shadow King interrupts. "Better to die here, together, than make me chase you across the world. Although..." He tilts his massive head. "The chase could be fun. I haven't had a good hunt in three thousand years."
"Thessa, please." Erynd's voice breaks. "Please run. Don't make my death meaningless. Don't make me fail again."
Tears stream down my face. "I can't. I can't just leave you to die."
"You can. You will." He smiles weakly. "Because you're not like the old Moon. You're smarter. Stronger. You know when to fight and when to survive." His eyes find mine one last time. "Survive, Thessa. Live. Get strong enough to come back and kill this bastard. That's an order from your guardian."
The Shadow King laughs. "How touching. The loyal dog giving his last command." He raises his paw, claws extending like knives. "But dead dogs don't give orders."
"NO!" I lunge forward but Erynd shakes his head.
"Run. NOW!"
The Shadow King's claws come down.
I run.
I hate myself for it. Hate every step that takes me away from Erynd. Hate the sound of his final scream echoing behind me. Hate the Shadow King's triumphant roar.
But I run anyway.
Through collapsing passages. Over broken ice. Past fleeing wolves who don't even try to stop me because they're too terrified of what's behind us.
I burst out of the ruins into cold night air just as the entire structure begins to collapse.
The Shadow King's form rises from the destruction, massive and terrible and finally, horribly free.
"FOUND YOU!" he roars, spotting me.
I'm about to die. I know it. I'm too weak, too new, too—
A hand grabs my wrist.
I spin to find the false goddess standing there, her face serious for once.
"Hold on," she says.
"What—"
Reality bends. Twists. We're moving but not moving, traveling but not traveling, and then—
We're somewhere else. Miles away. In a forest I don't recognize.
The false goddess releases me and I collapse, gasping. "What did you do?"
"Saved you. You're welcome." She looks back toward where the ruins were, visible in the distance as a column of darkness rising into the sky. "That thing will hunt you. Will never stop hunting you. But I just bought you some time."
"Why?" I demand through tears. "Why help me? You wanted my power too!"
"Because I'm an opportunist, not an idiot." She kneels beside me. "The Shadow King loose? That's bad for everyone. Divine and mortal alike. Better to help you survive long enough to maybe, possibly stop him." She stands. "Besides, you interest me. A mortal girl who became a goddess in three days. I want to see how this story ends."
She starts walking away.
"Wait!" I call. "Where are you going? How do I fight him? How do I—"
"Figure it out yourself. I'm not a mentor. I'm barely an ally." She pauses, looking back. "But if you want some advice? Stop trying to be the Moon. She failed. She died. Be something new. Something better. Something he won't expect."
She disappears into shadow, leaving me alone in a strange forest with a dead guardian and a monster hunting me.
I curl into a ball and let myself cry. For Erynd. For myself. For the impossible situation I'm trapped in.
But even as I cry, I feel something stirring.
Not in the ruins behind me.
Inside me.
The goddess's essence reacting to my grief, my rage, my desperation.
And I hear her voice, clear as crystal in my mind:
"He's not dead, daughter. Not yet. The oath still holds. But barely. If you want to save him—if you want to save anyone—you need to learn what I never did."
"What?" I whisper. "What do I need to learn?"
"That being divine isn't about power. It's about sacrifice. And you're about to learn exactly how much you're willing to sacrifice to save the ones you love."
The forest erupts in silver light.
Not from me.
From all around me.
And I realize with shock that I'm not alone after all.
Dozens of figures emerge from the trees. Wolves. But their eyes glow with the same divine light as mine.
Others. Other divine beings. Other carriers of the Moon's scattered essence.
And at their head stands a woman I recognize from the goddess's memories.
"Hello, Moon-Daughter," she says. "We've been waiting for you. Waiting for the seal to break. Waiting for the Shadow King to rise. Because now, finally, we can do what the Moon never could."
"What's that?" I ask, my voice shaking.
She smiles. "Unite. Combine our powers. And kill that ancient bastard once and for all."