Smoke curled through the shattered corridor.
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
The attacker's final words still echoed in my head.
Phase Two confirmed.
They had come here to test me.
Not capture me.
Not kill me.
Test me.
And I'd given them exactly what they wanted.
My hands trembled as I stared at them.
There was no white-golden light now.
No impossible power.
Just my hands.
"What did I do?"
Kael stood beside me.
"You protected people."
"I lost control."
"You stopped someone from hurting innocent wolves."
"I could have killed them."
His expression tightened.
"But you didn't."
"This time."
That silenced him.
Clarissa stirred uneasily.
She was frightened too.
That frightened me more than anything.
A siren screamed somewhere below.
Richard emerged through the sm
