The cave fell quiet, but the wolf’s golden eyes narrowed. Its mouth opened.
“You think dragging yourself back into a fight half-dead makes you strong?”
Nathaniel didn’t flinch, but the weight of the words settled on his shoulders.
“You’re no good to anyone if you collapse mid-swing.”
The wolf continued, circling him slowly.
“And don’t pretend you haven’t thought about it. I can smell it on you, the blood, the pain, the weight in your lungs. You’ve burned through too much, and now you’re just running on stubbornness.”
Nathaniel fell silent. He tried to keep his stubbornness at bay. The black wolf never scolded him, even back on the island, it never talked back to him whenever he pushed himself too hard from fighting monsters. It was rare that the black wolf had a lot to say now.
“I
