*Temple of the Flame*
One by one, the whispers of betrayal, regret, and pain faded into silence, leaving the group swaying as though waking from a fevered dream.
Crystal stood at the front, her hand still clasped tightly in Ryder’s.
Behind them, the others gathered… Ethan and Alia, Luca and Thalia, Darius and Evren. Each of them knew what they had faced in their illusions, but none dared speak.
At the center of the chamber, the altar glowed. Fire trickled across its surface as liquid light, running in molten rivulets down the carved lines.
Crystal gasped. Her chest still ached from the illusion she had endured… the vision of loss, of Ryder bleeding out in her arms, of her fire turning against her. She clutched Ryder’s hand, but even his warmth could not ease the way her wolf stirre
