Chapter 17
1117 Words
The ruins are eerily silent. The echoes of battle still hum in the air, a faint pulse of lingering energy, but the First is gone.
For now.
I can still feel the magic coursing through me—raw, untamed, dangerous. The moment I’d unleashed it, I had felt something shift. Not just in me, but in the world around me. Like a door had opened, and now… something was watching.
Something waiting.
Damien groans as he pushes himself up, wincing. His wolf form had shielded him from the worst of the damage, but even he isn’t invincible. I rush to him, kneeling beside him.
“Damien—”
“I’m fine,” he mutters, but I can hear the strain in his voice. His golden eyes meet mine, searching. “What the hell just happened?”
I don’t know how to answer.
Selene steps forward, her expression unreadable. “She made her choice.”
Damien frowns. “What choice?”
I exhale, feeling the weight of what I’ve done settle on my shoulders. “I didn’t fight the curse. I accepted it.”
A muscle ticks in his jaw. “And that’s a good thing?”
I hesitate. “I don’t know.”
Selene crosses her arms. “It means she has control. For now.”
The unspoken warning hangs between us.
For now.
I glance around the ruins, the ancient symbols still faintly glowing. Whatever magic lives here, it’s still awake. And I can’t shake the feeling that the First’s departure wasn’t a retreat. It was a test.
And I passed.
Damien reaches out, gripping my wrist. “Ariana… what if this changes you?”
His voice is raw, quiet, full of something close to fear.
I squeeze his hand, grounding myself in the warmth of his touch. “I won’t let it.”
But even as I say the words, I feel the doubt creeping in.
Because deep down, I know—
Something has changed.
We leave the ruins before dawn.
The forest is thick with mist, the air heavy with something unspoken. Every shadow feels sharper, every sound too loud.
Selene leads the way, her golden eyes scanning the trees. Damien walks beside me, his movements slower than usual, still recovering from the fight. He doesn’t complain, but I can feel the tension radiating from him.
He’s watching me.
Waiting for something.
I don’t know what he expects.
We reach the outskirts of the territory just as the sun begins to rise. The moment we step past the tree line, I feel it—a shift in the air, a ripple of something wrong.
Then I see them.
A group of figures waiting for us, their dark cloaks blending into the morning mist.
Rogues.
Not the mindless, feral kind. These ones stand too still, their movements too precise. Controlled.
A low growl rumbles from Damien’s chest. He steps in front of me instinctively, but I place a hand on his arm.
“No,” I say softly. “This is my fight.”
He stiffens but doesn’t argue.
One of the rogues steps forward, pulling back his hood. His face is sharp, angular, his silver eyes filled with something cold and calculating.
“You’ve awakened,” he says. It’s not a question.
I don’t respond.
He tilts his head. “The First has chosen you.”
A chill races down my spine. “He didn’t choose me.”
The rogue smiles, but there’s no warmth in it. “Didn’t he?”
I clench my fists. “What do you want?”
His gaze flickers to Selene, then back to me. “You already know.”
My heart pounds.
They’re not here to kill me.
They’re here to claim me.
Selene takes a step forward, her body tense. “We’re not interested in whatever offer you think you’re making.”
The rogue chuckles. “You don’t speak for her.” His eyes lock onto mine. “The First left you alive for a reason. He’s given you a choice. Come with us, and we will show you what you’re truly meant to be.”
I swallow hard. “And if I refuse?”
The smile fades. “Then you’ll die like the rest of them.”
My pulse spikes. “The rest of who?”
He gestures behind him. And that’s when I see it.
The bodies.
Scattered in the clearing beyond them, broken and lifeless. Warriors from my pack.
A strangled sound escapes me. I step forward before I can stop myself, rage rising like a storm inside me.
“You did this?” My voice shakes.
The rogue doesn’t flinch. “They tried to resist.”
Magic burns beneath my skin. My hands tremble with the effort of holding it back.
Damien steps closer, his body vibrating with barely contained fury. “You think you can just walk into our land and slaughter our people?”
The rogue tilts his head. “Your land?” He chuckles. “You still don’t understand, do you?”
He lifts a hand. The air shifts.
And then, suddenly, I can’t breathe.
A crushing force wraps around my chest, squeezing the air from my lungs. My vision blurs.
A voice whispers in my mind.
"You belong to us now."
No.
No, I don’t.
The power inside me reacts.
A burst of energy erupts from my core, shattering the invisible hold around me. The rogue stumbles back, eyes widening in shock.
I don’t give him time to recover.
I move, faster than thought, magic blazing through my veins. My hand closes around his throat, lifting him off the ground effortlessly.
His silver eyes go wide.
“You don’t control me,” I snarl.
I could kill him.
I should kill him.
But I don’t.
I release him.
He collapses to the ground, gasping. The other rogues tense, but none of them move.
I step back, my voice cold and steady. “Tell whoever sent you that I made my choice.”
The rogue stares up at me, something unreadable flickering in his eyes.
Then, without another word, he vanishes into the mist. The others follow.
A long silence stretches between us.
Then Damien exhales sharply. “Well, that was… something.”
I turn to him, my chest still tight.
Selene studies me, her golden eyes searching. “You spared him.”
I nod.
“You don’t think that was a mistake?” Damien asks.
I swallow hard. “No.”
Because I understand now.
This fight isn’t just about power. It’s about who I choose to be.
And I won’t become the thing I’m trying to destroy.
But deep down, I know—
This was only the beginning.
- Writer
