The silence in the crystal chamber was suffocating. Thorne stood at the entrance, his eyes moving between me and Silas. Seeing Silas's hand on my waist made Thorne's face turn a dark, angry purple. The dozen warriors behind him moved like shadows, spreading out to surround us. They all held crossbows made of dark wood, but the bolts were tipped with that strange, black glass.
"Move away from him, Elara," Thorne commanded. His voice echoed off the glowing walls. "This is your last warning. Come to me now, and I might let the rogue live as a slave."
I felt Silas stiffen beside me. He didn't move away. Instead, he stepped slightly in front of me, his body acting as a shield.
"You talk a lot for a man who just got thrown down a mountain," Silas mocked. But I could hear the worry in his voice. He knew what those weapons were.
"That glass," Silas whispered to me without turning around. "It's Obsidian-Null. If those bolts touch your skin, your wolf and your fire will be locked away. You'll be as weak as a human."
My heart hammered against my ribs. I had just found my power; I wasn't ready to lose it. I looked at Thorne, the man I once thought I loved. He looked like a stranger to me now. He looked like a monster.
"I'm not going anywhere with you, Thorne!" I yelled. "I'm not a prize you can win back."
Thorne's eyes narrowed. "Fire!"
The warriors pulled their triggers. A dozen black bolts hissed through the air like angry snakes.
Silas reacted instantly. He didn't shift into a wolf. Instead, he called upon his shadows. A thick, black mist exploded from his feet, rising up like a wall. The bolts hit the mist and slowed down, falling to the ground before they could reach us.
But Thorne was smart. He knew Silas would do that. While the warriors kept the Shadow King busy, Thorne shifted. He didn't turn into a full wolf this time. He went into a "half-shift"—his body grew larger, his claws lengthened, and his face became a terrifying mix of man and beast.
He lunged through the mist, ignoring the shadows. He wasn't aiming for Silas. He was aiming for me.
"No!" Silas roared. He turned to intercept Thorne, but two warriors jumped from the ledges above, throwing a heavy net made of silver wire over him.
Silas crashed to the ground, the silver burning his skin. He snarled and ripped at the net, but the more he fought, the tighter it became.
Thorne landed in front of me. He smelled of sweat and old blood. He reached out with a clawed hand and grabbed my throat. He didn't squeeze hard enough to kill me, but enough to let me know he was in control.
"You think you're a Queen now?" Thorne hissed into my ear. "You're nothing but a stray I forgot to put on a leash."
He held up the black glass collar. It pulsed with a faint, oily light. He began to move it toward my neck.
I tried to call on the Silver Flame. I searched deep inside for that heat, that power that had scared the Guardian away. But my fear was too loud. The fire wouldn't come.
"Silas!" I choked out.
Silas was screaming in rage, his eyes glowing a violent red. The shadows in the room began to go wild, lashing out at the warriors. One warrior was thrown against the crystal pillar, his bones breaking on impact. But Silas was still pinned under the silver net, and Thorne was seconds away from locking the collar around my neck.
Thorne leaned in closer, his lips almost touching mine. "Once this is on, you'll be mine forever. I'll take you back to the pack, and you'll spend the rest of your life in my bed, wishing you had never run away."
The cold glass touched my skin. A jolt of ice-cold energy ran through my body, making my knees buckle. My vision began to blur.
But then, I heard a sound. It wasn't from Thorne, and it wasn't from Silas.
It was a low, rumbling growl coming from the dark tunnel behind the statue. The Guardian wasn't gone. It had been waiting. And it didn't like Thorne's warriors standing on its sacred ground.
A massive, armored tail swung out of the darkness, swiping across the room. It hit the group of warriors, sending them flying like ragdolls.
Thorne looked up, his eyes wide with shock. In that split second of distraction, I found a tiny spark of the fire. I didn't try to blast him. I reached up and grabbed his wrist, letting the heat flow through my fingers.
Thorne screamed as his skin began to sizzle. He dropped the collar.
I kicked him in the chest, pushing him away. I ran toward Silas, grabbing the silver net with my bare hands. It burned me, but I didn't care. I pulled with everything I had.
"Get up!" I screamed.
Silas burst out of the net, his skin raw and bleeding. He didn't look at his wounds. He looked at the Guardian, then at Thorne, who was recovering from the burn.
The mountain gave another violent shake. The ceiling began to collapse.
"The whole place is going down!" Silas shouted. He grabbed my waist and looked at the black glass collar lying on the floor. He crushed it under his boot.
Thorne stood up, his face twisted in a snarl. "You're not leaving this cave alive!"
But the Guardian had other plans. It lunged at Thorne, its massive jaws open. Thorne had to shift fully to defend himself, and the two monsters crashed into each other, rolling across the floor.
"This is our only chance!" Silas pulled me toward a small opening behind the statue.
We ran into the dark tunnel just as a massive boulder fell, completely sealing the chamber behind us. The last thing I heard was Thorne's roar of fury and the scream of the monster.
We ran for a long time in the dark, Silas leading the way. Finally, we saw a sliver of grey light. We burst out of a hidden exit halfway down the mountain.
It was morning. The air was cold and fresh. I fell to the grass, gasping for air. Silas sat beside me, his chest heaving. He was covered in cuts and silver burns, but he looked at me like I was the only thing in the world.
"We made it," I whispered.
Silas looked back at the mountain. The entrance we had come from was gone, buried under tons of rock. "For now," he said. "But Thorne is an Alpha. He won't die that easily. And now, he has a reason to hunt us that goes beyond just a rejected mate."
He reached out and took my hand. His palm was warm. "We need to get to the Shadow City. You need to learn how to use that fire, Elara. Because when he comes back—and he will—he won't be coming alone."
I looked at my hands. They were trembling, but the spark was still there.
"Let him come," I said.
Suddenly, Silas's ears twitched. He stood up, pulling me behind him. From the trees in front of us, dozens of figures began to emerge. They weren't wearing Blackwood colors. They were dressed in black leather and fur, with masks covering their faces.
They all knelt.
"The Shadow Guard," Silas whispered. "They found us."
One of the masked figures stepped forward and took off their mask. It was a woman with silver hair and eyes that looked just like mine. She looked at me and tears filled her eyes.
"Princess," she said, her voice trembling. "We have waited twenty years for your return. But we have a problem."
"What problem?" I asked, my heart sinking.
The woman looked at Silas, then back at me. "The King of the North has heard the Silver Flame. He has declared war on anyone who hides you. His army is already at our borders."