POV: Thelma
The darkness inside the cave was absolute. Not the simple absence of light, but something deeper, something that pressed against my skin like cold hands. I walked forward because there was no other direction to go, my footsteps echoing off unseen walls.
"Hello?" My voice sounded flat even to my own ears.
A laugh answered me, dry and crackling like old paper. "Hello, she says. As if we're meeting at a market square."
Light bloomed ahead, revealing a cavern carved from black stone. In the center sat an ancient wolf in human form, her hair white as fresh snow, her eyes milky and sightless. But when those blind eyes turned toward me, I felt seen in a way I never had before.
"You're the Oracle," I said.
"And you're the girl with the stone heart." She tilted her head. "Or so yo
