Chapter 4: Whispers in the Smoke
409 Words
Sky
Sky was on his feet in an instant, placing Lila behind him with a protective growl. His eyes glowed a brilliant blue, and his instincts surged to the surface like a tidal wave. The room, just moments ago crackling with desire, now pulsed with danger.
The shadows shifted. A figure stepped into view—tall, cloaked in mist and ash, with eyes the color of molten silver.
Dragon.
The scent was unmistakable: ancient fire, scorched earth, and something darker, sour and thick like old blood.
"Noah," Sky growled.
The intruder smirked, revealing sharpened teeth. "Ah, so the dog remembers me."
Sky bared his teeth. “What do you want?”
Noah’s eyes flicked to Lila, lingering on her like a possession. “Her. Obviously.”
Lila stepped forward. “I belong to no one.”
Sky’s chest swelled with pride even as fury coiled in his gut.
Noah tilted his head. “Not yet. But your magic… your blood… it calls to me, witch. You’re not like the others. You’re Nythera’s bloodline. Your locket carries the last sigil of the Dreambound. With it, I can open the gates.”
“The gates to what?” Lila demanded.
He smiled, cold and cruel. “The end. And the beginning.”
Without warning, fire exploded from Noah’s palms, but Sky was faster. He tackled Lila, rolling her behind the stone table just as flames devoured the hearth.
He shifted—bones cracking, fur exploding from skin—Gabriel bursting free in full, glorious midnight blue. The ancient wolf let out a snarl that shook the walls.
Noah raised a hand, but this time, Lila rose with her locket blazing. Her eyes—one blue, one green—lit like twin moons.
Power surged through her, raw and wild. The wind answered her. The stone trembled beneath her feet.
She cast her hands forward, voice ancient and thunderous.
“You shall not take what is not yours.”
Noah screamed as a blast of dreamlight knocked him through the doorway, vanishing into the forest beyond.
For a long moment, only silence.
Then Gabriel shifted back, panting. “He knows who you are now.”
Lila nodded, trembling.
“And he’ll come back with an army.”
She swallowed hard. “Then we’ll be ready.”
Sky pulled her into his arms.
And for the first time since his father’s death, he believed in something bigger than war.
He believed in her.
- Writer
