VANESSA'S POV
Silence. The void-walker was gone, leaving behind only the chilling echo of its prophecy and the cult leader's maddening laughter. The nets lay in a useless, silver heap on the grass. We hadn't won a victory; we'd intercepted a calling card.
Moonhigh.
The word hung in the air, a death knell. The eclipse wasn't some distant, abstract threat. It was a countdown, ticking down with the moon's ascent.
Adrien moved first. In a blur of motion, he crossed the clearing, grabbed the cult leader by the front of his robes, and hauled him to his feet. "What gateway?" he snarled, his voice vibrating with a fury so intense the air around him seemed to shimmer. "Where?"
The leader just laughed, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the ground between them. "You stand on it, Alpha! The grove
