The world tilted.
The air itself screamed as power clashed with power, the ancient, corrupted magic of the Hollow Court colliding with the raw, untamed fury of the Flame that lived within me. The moment the ruler’s words faded, the very sky seemed to split open above us. Lightning crackled in jagged forks through the clouds, dancing between the broken towers of the capital like celestial fire.
Kael snarled beside me, his body already half-shifted into his wolf form, fur bristling with the promise of violence. Selene raised her staff, runes glowing like embers beneath her skin. Mira stood frozen for a heartbeat, her eyes fixed on the ruler as though she were seeing a ghost—or a memory she had never wanted to recall.
"Protect her," Kael growled at the others, but I stepped forward again,
