INTO THE SEAM
The ridge opened at dusk.
Not wider.
Not violently.
But deliberately.
The pale light that had been flickering along the fracture now flowed in a steady line thin as a blade, bright as bone.
The entire valley could see it.
No one pretended otherwise.
By the time the moon crested the treeline, the pack had gathered at the base of the northern ridge.
No torches were lit.
They didn’t need them.
The light spilling from the seam painted the stone in silver and shadow.
Elara stood at the front.
The circlet against her brow felt alive.
Not burning.
Not cold.
Aware.
Kael stood beside her, shoulders squared, jaw set in that way he wore when he’d already made his decision.
Behind them, the council waited. The warriors formed a loose perimeter. Even the younger wolves h
