There was no sky when I opened my eyes.
A vast, angular vault of ribs extended above me, bending into the shadows like a god's bones. Threads of silver light bled downward between them, accumulating into rivers that slithered across the earth.
I lay in the middle of it, breathing shallowly, and the shadows curled up against me like scared kids. They had calmed down. They were shaking.
The bone-vault shivered with a whisper. Not cursed. forged.
Chest tight, I jolted upright. Half-covered in mist, the faceless figure stood at the far end of the room. Its relentless, suffocating presence pressed against me like a tide.
Behind it, I saw them—rows of wolves carved from stone, each one bowed, each one chained by veins of silver. Their mouths were open, caught mid-howl, but no sound came. Th
