Chapter 41: Trial of the Mind
The drumbeats faded, replaced by a silence that was not silence at all—it was thick, charged, vibrating with the weight of ancient magic. The Moonspire Grounds glowed faintly, runes carved deep into the stones shimmering as if alive. The wolves ringed the circle, restless and eager, every pair of eyes fixed on Seren.
Elder Rhylen raised his staff, its crystal tip catching the moonlight. “The first of the Three has begun. The Trial of the Mind.”
Seren swallowed. Her mouth was dry, her hands clammy. Every heartbeat thudded against her ribs like a warning. Kaelen’s earlier words echoed in her memory: Stand your ground. Look it in the eye. But how did you look the Moon itself in the eye?
She stepped toward the central stone, her shadow stretching long under th
