The air was thick with ancient power and betrayal. The clearing trembled as Isla's pulse matched the earth’s deep, rumbling heartbeat. A sickening cold spread through her chest as Zane’s words echoed in her mind.
"It was never just about her."
“What are you talking about?” Isla demanded, her voice raw, torn between fury and dread. Light shimmered along her arms, the spirits howling around her in restless defense.
Zane’s face was unreadable, smeared with blood and soot, eyes hollow and haunted. The unfamiliar wolves flanking him stood still as statues, their forms unnaturally sharp in the gloom, their eyes neither crimson nor silver but something older, something primal.
“I tried to stop it,” Zane rasped. “Tried to contain what lay beneath this land. The prophecy… it wasn’t about a sing
