Everything was swallowed by silver. Thorn's flames, the wolves, and the courtyard were all gone, vanishing into dazzling light. For a moment, I believed I had been extinguished.
However, I remained there. Breathing Heart racing. And not alone.
The voice of the reflection hung like silk over me. "You see now."
Out of the light, shapes bled. Not wolves. Not darkness. Something more ancient, vast, and boundless. They stood in a circle, kneeling, faceless, carved out of ash and silver, towering over me. Their head movements and spine tilts were all flawless. Worshipful. reverent.
I stood in the middle of them. No stone. No fissure. Only me, barefoot on limitless light, my own shadows trembling like shackled dogs at my heels.
And across from me, the reflection. Whole. Solid. No longer smok
