The forest at the border of the Beast King's lands breathed like a living creature.
Leaves shivered with pale-blue luminescence. Thick roots twisted beneath the earth, humming with old magic. Fireflies — not insects, but tiny flickers of wild mana — drifted lazily through the night air like floating embers.
Kanah inhaled shakily as Owain set her down on a bed of warm moss beneath an ancient tree.
"Ow—Owain… I can walk, you know."
He didn't answer.
He crouched above her, that new glow in his eyes still present — amber braided with molten gold. Not bright. Not harsh.
But impossible to ignore.
She reached up, touching his cheek softly.
"Owain… you're staring."
He exhaled slowly.
"You feel different."
Kanah blinked. "Different how?"
He brushed the back of his fingers down her jaw.
"Your aura. Your heartbeat. Your… everything."
Her breath caught.
A flush crept up her neck.
"It's still me."
His gaze softened.
"That's what scares me."
Kanah tilted her head. "Why?"
Owain swallowed hard, eyes fixed on her like she was both fragile and devastating.
"Because I don't know if the throne changed you or just revealed what was already there."
Kanah touched his chest, right over the pulsing crest on his skin.
"I didn't change."
Owain leaned closer, voice rough.
"Then why does my entire body react every time you breathe?"
Kanah froze.
"Owain…"
He stopped himself abruptly and pulled back, jaw locking tight.
"Sorry," he muttered. "It's the instincts. I can control them. I just—need a second."
She sat up gently, taking his hand in both of hers.
"Owain. You're not scaring me."
He let out a breath he'd been holding far too long.
"What about me?"
"I'd tell you if you were."
Owain's eyes closed. He let her hold him, let her steady him.
Then he gathered himself, turning toward the others.
The Team Regroups
Yllas had already cleared a small perimeter, blades resting across his lap. His wings tucked close, the strain of battle still etched in the tightness of his shoulders.
Helion sharpened his claws on a stone, every movement an attempt to burn off leftover adrenaline.
Gerrin, meanwhile, traced glowing sigils into the air, checking for any lingering influence from the throne.
The air was tight, quiet — the kind of quiet that follows near-death experiences.
Gerrin spoke first.
"We need to establish what blessings — and consequences — the throne gave both of you."
Owain grunted. "Start with her."
Kanah frowned. "Owain—"
"I'm fine. You're still shaking."
She wasn't, actually.
But she didn't correct him.
Gerrin cleared his throat.
"Your sigil, Kanah… it's active. Constantly. Most thrones go dormant between trials — yours isn't."
Kanah stared at the faint golden glow beneath her collarbone.
"What does that mean?"
"It means your power responds to your emotions."
He paused.
"All of them."
Kanah stiffened.
Owain's arm curled around her waist immediately.
"She'll learn to control it."
Gerrin nodded. "Yes — but she needs guidance. And training."
Helion scoffed. "Oh great. A human queen with nuclear emotions. What could go wrong?"
Owain growled.
Helion sharpened a bit quieter.
Yllas finally spoke.
"Owain. Your instincts… are you stable?"
Owain's jaw flexed.
"I don't know."
Kanah squeezed his hand.
"I think you are."
He looked at her — and the wildness in his eyes softened instantly.
Gerrin observed the shift.
"That… is concerningly fast."
Owain glared. "What?"
"Your instincts seem to tether to her emotional state. She calms — and you calm. She's afraid — and you…" Gerrin swallowed, choosing his words carefully.
"You become a threat."
Kanah touched Owain's chest gently.
"Hey," she whispered.
"You've never hurt me."
Owain lowered his forehead to hers.
"I never will."
Helion muttered, "Let's hope destiny agrees."
Owain's eyes snapped to him.
Helion immediately held up both hands.
"I SAID HOPE. HOPE, OWAIN. Calm."
Kanah hid a small smile.
Owain rolled his eyes.
Kanah's First Power Shift
Gerrin held his staff forward gently.
"Kanah, I need to see something. Can you try calling your power? Slowly."
Kanah hesitated.
"I… don't know how."
"Try thinking of Owain when you first felt the throne."
She did.
Instantly, the air crackled.
Golden light swirled around her fingertips.
Owain inhaled sharply.
Kanah panicked.
"Oh—no—nonono—stop—!"
The light flared—
—and Owain pulled her into his chest, enclosing her hands in his.
"Breathe," he murmured against her hair.
She gasped, leaning into him.
The light dimmed.
Then vanished.
Gerrin looked stunned.
"That was… immediate."
Kanah trembled.
"Owain—it reacted because I thought of—"
He nodded. "Yeah. I felt it."
"You didn't seem scared."
"I'm not scared of you."
Kanah bit her lip, touched.
Gerrin scribbled in the air with sparks of magic.
"Noted. The Queen's power is linked to the King's presence. He grounds her."
Helion rolled his eyes. "Of course he does. Wolves mate with their entire soul."
Owain glared.
Helion pretended to focus very hard on the moss.
A New Enemy Watches
Far across the glowing forest, hidden in the twisted roots of an ancient tree, a pair of yellow reptilian eyes opened.
The creature crouched low, its long tail flicking once.
A messenger beast.
A spy.
Sent by someone who had sensed the throne's fall.
It whispered into the dark:
"The Queen is risen."
A second voice answered from the void.
"Good."
The reptilian eyes narrowed.
"And the Wolf King?"
"He lives?"
"Yes."
The hidden voice hissed, pleased.
"Perfect."
The messenger bowed its head.
"Shall we strike now?"
"Not yet."
The voice exhaled slowly.
"Let them think they are safe."
A pause.
"And when they sleep…"
Its smile could be heard, even unseen.
"…we take the Queen."
Back at the Camp
Kanah sat with her back against Owain's chest, the two of them at the base of an enormous bioluminescent tree. Its trunk pulsed with soft blue light like a heartbeat.
Owain kept his arms around her, warm and steady.
Gerrin watched from a distance, noting how the sigils on both their bodies subtly synced with each pulse of the tree.
"Do you feel anything strange?" he asked.
Kanah shook her head. "Not strange. Just… more."
"More?"
She nodded, searching for the right words.
"I feel everything more.
The wind.
The magic in the air.
The fear in the forest.
Owain."
He stiffened slightly.
Kanah turned her face toward him.
"I feel you like… you're in my bones."
His breath hitched.
"Kanah…"
She smiled softly.
"It's not scary."
Owain pressed his nose into her hair, voice low.
"It is for me."
Kanah blinked up at him.
"Owain…"
He held her tighter.
"If anything happens to you now, I'll feel it. Instinct will react before thought. I don't trust myself if you're in danger."
Kanah placed her hand on his cheek.
"Then stay close."
His eyes softened.
"Always."
Yllas cleared his throat loudly from across the clearing.
"Everyone — try to sleep. We move at dawn."
Helion flopped onto a patch of moss.
Gerrin sat cross-legged, meditating.
Owain looked down at Kanah.
"You rest first."
She shook her head softly.
"I'm not tired."
He raised an eyebrow.
"You nearly passed out twice."
"I'm fine."
"You're not."
Kanah crossed her arms, indignant.
"Maybe you should rest."
Owain chuckled.
"Kana… I'm king now. I don't get tired."
"That's a lie."
He smirked.
"Maybe."
She nudged him lightly.
"Owain… just hold me."
He pulled her gently into his lap, wrapping both arms around her, chin resting on her shoulder. His scent enveloped her — wild, warm, grounding.
As her breathing softened, Owain didn't sleep.
His instincts kept him awake.
Watching.
Listening.
Guarding.
Kanah's new Queen-sense pulsed gently beneath her skin, syncing with his heartbeat.
Just as she drifted into sleep—
Owain stiffened suddenly.
Kanah stirred.
"…Owain?"
He whispered against her hair, voice low and dangerous.
"Someone's here."
Kanah's breath caught.
Helion rose silently.
Yllas drew both blades.
Gerrin's staff lit with arcane flame.
Owain's eyes glowed brighter than the moon.
"Kana," he murmured,
never taking his eyes off the dark forest,
"stay behind me."
She didn't argue.
She grabbed the back of his coat, staying close.
Owain's growl rumbled deep.
Low.
Predatory.
The Wolf King.
The trees shifted.
The air thickened.
A shadow stepped out.
Kanah gasped.
Owain bared his teeth.
"Show yourself."
The shadow laughed softly.
"That won't be necessary."
Kanah froze.
Owain snarled.
Yllas whispered urgently:
"Owain—Kanah—
That's not a beast.
That's—"
The figure stepped into the moonlight.
Kanah's heart dropped.
The others tensed.
Owain's breath went cold.
Because the figure wasn't a creature.
Or a spirit.
It was—
A man.
Tall.
Human.
Smiling faintly.
His eyes were wrong.
His presence unnerving.
His power—impossible to read.
Kanah whispered:
"…How… how is there another human here…?"
Owain shoved her gently behind him.
The man smiled wider.
"Hello, Kanah."
Owain froze.
Kanah's blood turned to ice.
"Who… who are you…?"
The man bowed.
"I am the one who brought you to this world."