The Gate and the Girl
The Blood Moon had begun to rise.
It hung low over the horizon like an open wound in the sky—swollen, crimson, and pulsing with energy that seeped into the earth like a second heartbeat. The world beneath it held its breath.
And so did Raine.
From the balcony of the Eclipse Stronghold, she could see the entire valley bathed in a bruised red hue. Wolves patrolled the perimeter in silence, their forms shifting occasionally as tension rippled through the pack like invisible lightning.
The time was almost here.
The gate would open.
And Lyra would have to make her choice.
Behind her, the war council murmured over strategy, wards, runes, fallback points. But none of it mattered if the girl wasn’t strong enough.
None of it mattered if they’d already lost her.
“She
