ALICIA
Within me, the triplets stirred restlessly, as if the encroaching void called to their nascent light. Skylar unleashed a silent roar, no tremor of fear, only unbridled defiance, her power surging like a golden tide... but I clamped it down, pain lancing through me, for their sake.
Vladric's crimson stare pierced mine, a languid smile unveiling fangs that dripped with ancient malice. “Three nights to contemplate, while you cower behind your mates. On the fourth, we descend and your frailty will be your undoing.”
He unraveled into wisps of shadow, the ravens dissolving in a maelstrom that fled eastward like a receding nightmare.
Silence cloaked the valley, heavy and absolute. My mates pivoted toward me, their expressions forged in unyielding resolve, love and fury intertwined, bu
