Kael’s POV
By dawn, the fortress was no longer quiet.
The guards whispered about voices in the snow, about shadows moving along the ramparts with no bodies to cast them. The council demanded answers, and the servants crossed themselves before passing any mirror.
And through it all, I could feel the air tightening — the way it does before a storm.
Selene hadn’t slept. Neither had I. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw frost creeping along the floor of the council chamber, heard that faint sound — laughter, or memory, or both.
Now, standing before the council table, I felt the weight of two kinds of fear pressing in: theirs and my own.
---
“Alpha,” said Elder Thasson, his voice shaking slightly. “We need to know what’s happening. The men say the Moon’s cursed this place again.”
“Men s
