The explosion of the Queen’s ship didn't rain wood or silk; it rained shards of frozen amber. The Greatsword had shattered, but the soul trapped within it didn't return to a human form.
Instead, the fragments coalesced in the air, weaving together like a jagged tapestry of nightmare. What emerged from the golden flames was a beast that defied the laws of nature. It was a wolf, yes—the size of a small house, with obsidian fur that seemed to drink the very light of the morning. But where its eyes should have been, there were twin voids of pulsing violet. Its tail was a whip of serrated silver scales, and its breath came out as a freezing, toxic mist.
It was the Shadow-Mate.
"Kaelen?" Elara’s voice was barely a breath.
The creature turned its massive head toward her. There was no recognit
