The royal convoy idled on the frost-cracked road, engines rumbling like distant thunder, the air thick with the metallic tang of blood and the biting chill of the tundra. Lilith stood outside the lead SUV, Lucas a protective shadow at her side, his dagger drawn and eyes scanning the treeline for any sign of ambush. The warriors formed a tight circle around the small, bloody figure on the ground, their silver blades gleaming under the pale sun, UV lights humming with latent power. The ten rescued pups huddled nearby, wrapped in blankets, their wide eyes darting between the boy and the adults, small bodies shivering not just from cold but from the trauma etched into their tear-streaked faces.
Lilith knelt closer, her ruby eyes locking onto the boy’s, which mirrored her own—crimson, haunted,
