THE SHADOW’S COUNTERSTRIKE
The forest was silent, but the calm was deceptive. Every breath Kael took, every movement Nara made, carried the weight of anticipation. Even after the destruction of the fragment, a lingering sense of unease clung to the scorched trees. Kael’s amber eyes glowed in the darkness, scanning the edges of the clearing. He could feel it—something watching, waiting, calculating.
Nara’s silver fire flickered nervously around her hands. “It survived… the whispers say so. And I can feel it, just beyond the shadows. It’s preparing something.”
Lyra’s golden aura pulsed with tension. “It knows our strength now. It’s going to strike back… but not directly. That’s what makes it dangerous. It won’t meet us head-on—it’ll attack where we least expect.”
Riven’s claws flexed, ja
