Eclipse of the Silent Goddess

Chapter 6

The dark fog pouring through the shattered ceiling smelled of rotted leaves and ancient, stagnant swamp water. It wasn't natural weather; it was a shadow-weaving spell, heavy and suffocating, designed to blind their senses and mute their shifters' tracks.

"Enforcers, defensive formation!" Headmaster Vance barked, his earlier greed momentarily replaced by panic as the room grew dark. "Protect the courtyard!"

But the guards were disorganized, still reeling from Garrison’s crushing Alpha pressure. The students screamed, scrambling blindly through the sudden, ink-black gloom as the fog began to seep into their eyes and lungs, inducing a paralyzing lethargy.

Evangeline felt the shadow-magic clawing at her mind, trying to put her inner light to sleep. But her high-fae blood roared in defiance.

Before she could form a defensive spell, a massive, warm hand wrapped around her wrist. The contact was electric. A jolt of pure, crackling energy rushed up her arm, instantly burning away the fog's numbing effects.

Garrison pulled her flush against his chest. Even in the dark, his amber eyes glowed like twin hearths. One of his large hands settled possessively on the small of her back, while the other remained free, his claws already extended and gleaming in the dark.

"Stay behind me," he rumbled, his chest vibrating against her cheek. "I don't care who or what is coming through that fog. They don't touch you."

"Garrison, you don't understand," Evangeline whispered, her silver voice frantic as she struggled against his hold. "The shadow-weaver leading them... it’s Morvath. He is the one who butchered my pack. His magic feeds on Alpha blood. If you fight him blindly, he will drain you."

Garrison’s grip tightened, not out of malice, but an instinctual, primal reflex to protect his mate. "Let him try. A warlord doesn't hide behind his woman."

"I am not asking you to hide!" Evangeline snapped, her golden eyes flaring with a sudden, authoritative brilliance that actually made the Alpha blink. "I am asking you to be smart. My healing magic is the only thing that can dissolve his shadows. If you want to kill him, you need to let me guide your strikes."

Garrison stared down at her. His inner wolf chafed at the idea of letting his mate anywhere near danger, but the military commander in him recognized the absolute tactical truth in her words.

He gave a tight, fierce nod. "Tell me what to do."

"Lend me your strength," she said, placing her palms flat against his broad chest. "The mate bond... it goes both ways. Let me channel my light through your aura."

Garrison closed his eyes, throwing open the spiritual gates of his soul. Evangeline did the same. The moment their energies fully fused, a soft, breathless gasp escaped her lips. Garrison's power was a roaring furnace of raw, golden-red earth magic. She guided her own ethereal, starlight-gold fae magic into the stream, blending them together.

*BOOM.*

A shockwave of incandescent, rose-gold light detonated outward from the pair. It wasn't a destructive blast, but a pure, blinding dawn that completely incinerated the dark fog, clearing the entire arena in a single heartbeat.

The clearing revealed a horrific sight. Standing on the upper tier of the amphitheater was a tall, skeletal figure clad in tattered black robes, his face hidden beneath a goat-skull mask. Morvath. Surrounding him were dozens of elite shadow-strikers, their blades drawn.

Morvath hissed as the light scorched his eyes, his gaze dropping instantly to Evangeline. Beneath the mask, a horrific, clicking laugh echoed. "There you are, little princess. Five years I hunted a ghost, only to find you playing dress-up in a dog kennel."

Garrison stepped in front of her, his voice a cataclysmic roar that cracked the stone pillars around them.

"You chose the wrong academy to die in, shadow-scum," Garrison snarled.

With a brutal leap that defied gravity, Garrison launched himself across the arena straight toward the upper tier, his body shifting mid-air into the monstrous, midnight-black wolf. But this time, his fur was frosted with a crackling, brilliant layer of Evangeline's golden fae light.

The final battle for St. Jude's had begun.