SCARLETT
The crimson glow on the horizon did not fade.
It pulsed.
Each beat sent a low vibration through the earth, like the heart of some buried giant. The forest around the shattered Gate trembled, leaves rattling though there was no wind. Above, the moon hid behind bruised clouds as if it too feared to witness what came next.
Kael’s swords still burned faintly, tips carving sparks in the dirt. “That light…” he said, jaw tight. “Another Gate?”
Lucien’s black eyes narrowed. “No. Not a Gate. A wound.”
Darius crouched, pressing his palm to the soil. The faint crackle of storm-fire lit his fingers. “The ground hums. Like something’s… awakening.”
I felt it through the mark on my shoulder a dull ache, each throb syncing with that distant pulse. A reminder that the fight with Nyxvar had
