The figure entered through the damaged gate.
The army did not follow. Their stillness was more terrifying than any charge, and they remained bowed, their crescents burning brighter.
As the figure crossed the threshold, fog coiled around its shoulders, revealing its face to me for the first time. Not hideous. Not twisted. Human—too human. Its eyes are silver from corner to corner, with no pupils or whites, and its skin is as pale as ash.
The silver light on the ground pulsed higher with each step, reaching farther, until it licked at my knees like fire, desperate to devour me.
Snarling and snapping, wolves scurried back, but none dared to attack. Waves of fear swept through them. With her claws out and teeth bared, Mira's body shook as if something invisible pinned her in place.
Th
