Somewhere deep within the Stone Palace, beneath the echoing halls and the roar of the distant festival, a brutal fight was unfolding. The air was thick with the scent of blood and dust, claws scraping against stone, growls reverberating off the walls. Two beasts—lion and wolf—tore into each other in the dark.
The roar that tore through the stone halls didn't sound human. It was the kind of sound that made the torches tremble and the ground itself seem to shiver.
Luca lunged first. His wolf form burst forward in a blur of grey and blue-silver fur, claws scraping against the stone. Asael met him head-on, shifting in the same heartbeat—his body stretching, bones cracking, golden light flooding his veins until the lion emerged, mane bristling, eyes burning bright as molten metal.
