<h4>Chapter 648: Change Of ns</h4>


    <strong>Evaline:</strong>


    The snow outside the mansion was still fresh from the night before, nketing everything in soft white. It crunched faintly under my boots as Rowan and I stepped out through the front doors.


    The cold air immediately nipped at my cheeks, but I barely noticed it.


    Today was important.


    More than important.


    Today was the day we were supposed to put a stop to this nightmare. The witches were supposed to arrive at Silver Moon Academy and finally locate the Great Evil. Once they found it, they would seal it away.


    If everything worked as nned... there would be no more victims, no more wolves stolen, no more souls trapped in endless silence.


    Rowan shut the door behind us as we walked toward the car waiting near the driveway.


    But halfway down the stone path, I slowed.


    Something wasn’t right.


    Rowan must have noticed it at the same time because his steps slowed too.


    Ahead of us, standing in the snow-covered garden, were River, Kieran, and Oscar.


    But they weren’t alone.


    Two more figures stood with them - Elder Morwen and Elder Penn.


    All five of them stood in a small circle, and none of them were speaking. Instead, every single one of them looked... grim.


    Rowan and I exchanged a quick nce.


    "What’s going on?" he muttered under his breath.


    I had no answer.


    But the uneasy feeling curling in my stomach grew stronger with every step as we approached them.


    River noticed us first. His gaze lifted from the snow and met mine. And the moment I saw his expression, my chest tightened.


    Something had gone wrong.


    Badly.


    "River?" I asked the moment we reached them. "What’s wrong?"


    My eyes moved between all of them before settling back on him.


    "And why aren’t we leaving for the academy?"


    Today was the day.


    We had nned everything carefully.


    The witches were supposed to meet us there.


    So why were we standing here instead?


    River exhaled slowly as he spoke, "We have a problem."


    My stomach dropped.


    Before I could ask more, Elder Morwen stepped forward slightly.


    Her hair shimmered faintly against the snowy background as her ancient eyes settled on me.


    "We discovered something during our final preparations the night before," she said calmly.


    Her voice was steady.


    But there was weight behind her words.


    "What kind of something?" Rowan asked beside me.


    Morwen didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she looked at each of us before speaking.


    "We still haven’t confirmed what will happen to the victims... if the Great Evil is eliminated."


    The world seemed to go quiet.


    My heartbeat suddenly sounded too loud in my ears.


    "What do you mean?" I whispered.


    Her expression softened slightly.


    "The Great Evil didn’t simply harm the victims," she spoke, "It stole their wolves."


    I knew that already.


    We all did.


    But the way she said it made dread creep slowly through my chest.


    "If we destroy the Great Evil," she continued carefully, "we do not know what will happen to the wolves it has taken."


    My breath caught, and a terrible thought formed in my mind before she even finished.


    "If eliminating the entity also destroys the wolves..."


    Her voice trailed off, but she didn’t need to say the rest.


    Because we all understood - if the wolves were destroyed... the victims would lose their final connection to their souls.


    And they would never wake up.


    Never.


    My vision blurred for a moment.


    Draven.


    The image of him lying motionless in the basement shed across my mind.


    My fingers curled tightly into fists.


    No.


    No.


    Morwen continued speaking gently.


    "There was also the option of sealing the soul until we discover a cure."


    River folded his arms across his chest as he spoke, "But that won’t work either."


    Morwen nodded slowly.


    "The sealing spells our ancestors used centuries ago were extremely powerful ones. Once those spells are ced, they cannot simply be undone."


    I swallowed.


    "If we seal the Great Evil now," she continued, "andter discover that the cure requires us to extract the wolves out of it or interact with the soul..." She shook her head. "We would be unable to remove the sealing spell."


    A heavy silence settled around us as snowkes drifted slowly between us.


    Rowan ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "What about temporary seals?" he asked.


    The elder witch sighed.


    "That was our next thought too." Her gaze darkened as she added, "But temporary sealing spells are weaker."


    She paused.


    "Once the Great Evil realizes it is in danger... there is a possibility it could break through those seals."


    "And if it escapes," Oscar muttered, "it won’t be that easy to catch it again."


    Morwen nodded her head in agreement. "Exactly."


    The soul would be on alert. It would know the witches were after it. And once it understood that...


    "It could try to escape the academy entirely," River finished grimly.


    The implications of that were terrifying.


    If it escaped...


    We would have no idea where it went.


    And it would keep hunting.


    Stealing more wolves.


    Creating more victims.


    "So what you are saying," Rowan said slowly, "is that we can’t destroy it... and we can’t seal it."


    Morwen lowered her head slightly.


    "For now... yes."


    My chest tightened painfully.


    "So we do nothing?" I whispered.


    "No," River said firmly. His voice carried quiet determination, but the tension in his jaw gave him away. "We need to find the cure first."


    Kieran finally spoke from beside him. "Did you find anything?" His gaze rested on Morwen with open hope. "Anything that could wake the victims?"


    Morwen looked genuinely regretful as she shook her head.


    "I had several witches specializing in healing magic investigate the matter." She sped her hands together. "But so far... nothing of real help."


    The silence that followed felt suffocating.


    River spoke again after a moment. "The holidays will be ending in less than two weeks."


    That reality hit like a stone.


    Students would soon return to Silver Moon Academy.


    Completely unaware that something monstrous was hiding inside their campus.


    "Even if we can’t eliminate the Great Evil yet," River continued, "we need a way to stop it from hunting more people."


    His gaze hardened.


    "And we need to find that cure."


    Because until we did... the victims would remain trapped in endless darkness.


    No one spoke for a long moment. The only sound was the wind moving through the snow-covered trees.


    Then...


    Elder Penn finally moved.


    She had been silent this entire time - watching, listening, thinking. Her old yet sharp eyes moved slowly across the group before settling on River.


    "I might have a way," she said quietly.


    Everyone turned toward her immediately.


    And hope flickered inside my chest.


    "What way?" River asked.


    Penn’s lips pressed into a thin line.


    "It could allow us to temporarily seal the soul without risking it trying to break free."


    Rowan straightened.


    "That’s good, isn’t it?"


    Penn didn’t answer right away. Instead, her gaze drifted across all of us.


    There was hesitation there.


    Something heavy.


    Something ufortable.


    "It would keep the Great Evil contained," she said slowly. "And prevent it from attempting to escape."


    River’s eyes narrowed slightly.


    "But?"


    Penn exhaled.


    Her voice lowered when she finally finished her sentence.


    "But this method... might be hical."