Magnus’s POV
The night air was thick with the scent of decay and magic. I stood at the edge of the burnt clearing, my robes dragging over charred grass and blackened soil. The smoke from the northern ridge still rose in lazy curls, a warning to the Blackwood pack. A promise of what was to come.
Fools. They thought they could stop what had already begun.
Selena had done her part. Played her role like the desperate girl she was—hungry for vengeance, easy to manipulate. But her use was wearing thin. She had started asking too many questions, hesitating in ways she never had before.
Weakness.
I had no room for it.
With a flick of my hand, I summoned the shadows. They slithered forward like loyal dogs, coiling at my feet. They whispered to me, voices layered and cold, telling me what I al
