Chapter 26: The Last Shadow
Six months passed.
Peace returned.
Then one morning, I woke screaming.
Kael was beside me instantly.
“What happened?”
I touched my chest.
“The mark.”
It was glowing black.
His face changed.
“No.”
“What?”
“The Shadow Wolf.”
I closed my eyes.
I could hear it.
Elara.
But this time…
Its voice wasn’t threatening.
It sounded afraid.
Something is coming.
I froze.
“What?”
Something older than me.
The voice disappeared.
Kael stared at me.
“What did it say?”
I told him.
My mother entered moments later.
She heard everything.
Her face went pale.
“The Shadow Wolf was never the oldest darkness.”
“What is?”
She looked toward the northern sky.
“The Void.”
Kael sighed.
“Of course.”
I laughed despite myself.
“Can’t we have one normal year?”
My mother smiled.
“Apparently not.”
The Black Moon mark glowed.
But this time, I wasn’t afraid.
Whatever came next…
We would face it together.
