The cave was silent, save for the crackle of the small fire I had lit. Shadows danced against the stone walls, stretching like spirits as I pulled back the cloth covering my hidden bowl.
My fingers caressed the handle of the knife as I drew it out. Small, sharp, precise—the perfect tool.
A laugh bubbled from my chest, loud and unrestrained, echoing through the chamber. Power. I could taste it already.
From beneath another wrap of red cloth, I revealed a second bowl and placed it upon the stone altar I had crafted with my own hands. It wasn’t the gods who had given me this vision. No—this was mine.
My will. My doing. Soon, I would be the only priestess the Shadow Pack had ever known, the only one they needed.
“Soon,” I whispered, pressing the knife to my palm just long enough to feel
