The wind howled across the valley as Elara and Kael returned to the heart of the pack. Word of the rogue battle had already spread to the outer settlements. Warriors from allied packs had begun arriving — young, fierce, loyal — answering the Alpha's call for unity.
But in Elara's heart, a different battle brewed.
She stood in the training circle, surrounded by warriors sparring, their grunts and growls echoing. Yet her focus was elsewhere. Her hand still tingled from the moment at the spring — the touch of fire laced with moonlight. She couldn't stop feeling it beneath her skin, pulsing like a second heartbeat.
Kael stood nearby, speaking with two warriors, but his eyes often drifted back to her. He could feel the shift too. The energy in her — it was growing.
"Elara," a voice called from behind.
She turned to see Ravynn striding toward her, two training staffs in hand.
"Time to test what that fire of yours can do," Ravynn said with a crooked grin.
Elara raised a brow. "You think it can be summoned on command?"
"Only one way to find out."
They stepped into the circle. A crowd slowly formed, sensing something more than a spar was about to happen. Ravynn attacked first — fast, deliberate strikes. Elara blocked with precision, her movements sharp but measured.
Then something shifted.
With each blow, a heat began building in her chest. Her eyes flickered — not just with the silver glow of the moon — but with gold, faint and flickering. When Ravynn's staff caught her side, the heat surged. Elara spun and knocked the staff away with such force that it cracked in half mid-air.
Gasps rang out.
Ravynn stepped back, staring. "Your eyes…"
Elara touched her temple, breathing heavily. "What happened?"
Kael pushed through the crowd. "They were glowing. Gold and silver. At once."
Elena, the seer, appeared again at the edge of the circle. No one had seen her arrive.
"The fire is waking," she said. "Soon, the world will feel it."
Elara looked around — at her pack, at Kael, at her own hands.
Power was rising inside her.
But power always came with a price.