The night explodes before dawn.
The first howl splits the air : high, ragged, not from any wolf I've ever known. Then the walls tremble.
Stone dust falls from the ceiling as the alarm bells scream across the valley.
Kellan bursts into the hall, half-shifted, eyes blazing silver.
"They're inside the outer ring! Two dozen, maybe more. They move like smoke."
"Evacuate the healers. Get Lyra to the east tunnels.
"My command cuts through the noise. "I'll take the front line."
Damian's voice follows mine. "I'm coming with you."
I don't argue. There's no time.
The courtyard is chaos : claws against steel, arrows slicing through fog. The rogues don't fight like wolves; they glide, twisting in shapes that blur between man and beast. Their eyes glow red, feral and intelligent.
I shift mid-stride. Bones crack, fur rips through skin. My senses sharpen until I can taste the iron in the wind.
Damian lands beside me, his form massive and dark, a shadow against firelight. For a heartbeat, we move as we once did : perfectly in sync, a rhythm our bodies remember even if our hearts have forgotten.
I tear through the first wave, my claws sinking into flesh. Blood sprays, hot and bright against the cold air.
Kellan's voice rings out somewhere behind: "Alpha, more coming from the west!"
Damian's growl vibrates through the ground. "Go. I'll hold this side."
For once, I don't refuse. I leap toward the western gate : and freeze.
They're not just attacking; they're searching.
Through the smoke, one rogue lifts its head and sniffs.
Then it turns, eyes locking on the high tower : Lyra's room.
"No."
I sprint, every muscle screaming.
Inside the tower, the world feels too quiet.
The door's already open. The air hums with power.
"Lyra!"
She stands near the window, a faint glow swirling around her hands. The air ripples : half fire, half light.At her feet lies a rogue, convulsing, burned from the inside out.
Her eyes are golden and crimson all at once.
"Sweetheart," I whisper, stepping closer. "It's okay. I'm here."
"They wanted me, Mama" she says softly. "They said my blood can wake the ancient one."
My pulse stutters. "Who told you that?"
Before she can answer, another voice speaks from the doorway.
"I did."
The words are deep, smooth, and achingly familiar.
I turn.
A man stands framed in the smoke, his eyes glowing the same red as the rogues outside. His face : older, sharper, but unmistakable.
"Elias…" I breathe.
The brother I buried ten years ago.
He smiles, cold and perfect. "You should've stayed dead, sister."
Damian's roar echoes up the staircase, followed by the crash of splintering wood.He appears behind Elias in a flash, blade drawn, fangs bared.
"Step away from them," Damian growls.
Elias doesn't move. "Still protecting her, I see. Tell me, Alpha : does she know what she really carries?"
"What are you talking about?" I snap.
Elias's smile widens. "Your child isn't just a hybrid, Aria. She's the last key. Half wolf, half"
The rest is drowned out as the tower wall explodes.A wave of fire and wind hurls us backward. I shield Lyra with my body, glass cutting into my arms.
Through the smoke, I see him : Elias, surrounded by his creatures, vanishing into the fog with a swirl of crimson light.
He's gone.
And Lyra's whisper breaks me:
"Mama… he said he'll come back when the blood moon rises."
Outside, the battle still rages. Damian kneels beside me, blood streaking his temple, eyes full of something I can't name.
"Aria," he says hoarsely, "whatever he is, he's not done."
I look toward the burning horizon where my brother disappeared.
"No," I whisper. "And neither am I."
Far beyond the mountains, Elias stands beneath the red moon, holding a vial glowing with Lyra's blood.The shadows behind him whisper one name :
"The ancient one stirs."