CHAPTER <b>115 </b>


    The silence that followed the storm of shadows was deafening. Even the wind seemed to hesitate, as if the world itself was holding its breath. I leaned against Elias, still trembling, but not just from the fight–my mind was a whirl of betrayal, revtion, and the raw, unfiltered rage that came from knowing someone I had trusted had been orchestrating this all along.


    “We can’t stay here.” Elias muttered, his voice low but steady, snapping me out of my spiral. He scanned the horizon, muscles tensed, as if thend itself might erupt with another threat at any moment. “We need to regroup, heal, and n our next move. They won’t wait for us to be ready.”


    I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. Every instinct screamed for vengeance, I didn’t know who against just yet, but I knew he was right. Right now, survival came first. “Where do we even start?” I asked, my voice hoarse.


    Elias’s eyes narrowed. “We have to find him–the sorcerer. Whoever he is, he’s behind all of this. If we don’t stop him, there will be more shadows, more chaos, more death… it’ll never end.”


    The thought made my stomach twist. The Ash Queen’s court had always been a ce of mystery. Never knowing who was there or why they were there. What they were doing for her. I never even heard of her having any allies. But there were always people hanging around that I was unsure about. People that looked like peasants in the vige where we were staying with Arthur. People that were staying in the other camps with our warriors. Luke had told us of a few people that our warriors were a little concerned about but it was nothing that they couldn’t handle. They didn’t want us getting involved unless it was absolutely necessary. But now, the true predator was revealed–not a faceless army, not even Arthur, but someone closer, someone who had known our names and used them like knives. I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms. The wolf in me growled low, a warning that it’dn’t forgotten, hadn’t forgiven.


    And I was more sure now than ever that he was from the vige that we were staying in. I was pretty sure who he was. The one that was always hanging around. I could sense power in that vige but I never knew where it wasing from. Arthur didn’t have any so it had to be someone else in that vige.


    But this is a strange realm where the simplest of people can have power while the Kings and Queens don’t. Which is why I didn’t really pay too much attention to it.


    “First.” Elias said, breaking my thoughts, “we heal. Then we strike. We take the fight to them, before they can strike at us again.”


    I felt the bond between us thrum–a pulse that had never been so alive, so intense. The bond wasn’t just connection; it was power. Shared strength. Shared purpose. And in that moment, the rage that had nearly consumed me transformed into something sharper, more focused. A promise.


    “I’m ready.” I said, voice steady now, though my heart still pounded. “We take them down. Everyst one.”


    Elias nodded, and for a brief moment, we simply stood there together, the night sky stretching endlessly above, the remnants of shadow curling like smoke around our feet. Then, as if the world had heard our vow, the first faint glimmer of dawn broke over the horizon, brushing the wastnd in muted gold and crimson.


    A new day. A new fight. And for the first time in what felt like an eternity, I felt the stirrings of


    hope.


    But deep in the back of my mind, the warning echoed, relentless and insistent: the sorcerer was waiting. Watching. And when he made his move, it wouldn’t be shadows that came for us. It would be everything he had been saving… and we had no idea what that truly meant.


    I let out a long, shuddering breath, feeling thest of the adrenaline ebb from my veins.


    “We need to find shelter.” Elias said.


    “There used to be a vige in this direction. We can see if it’s still there.” I said.


    “Yeah. Hopefully no one is living there. Everyone around here seems to want us dead.” He


    said.


    “Yeah. It seems to be that way, doesn’t it?” I said as we started walking.


    “Alright. So, do you know how to find this sorcerer?” He asked.


    “No. But I have a feeling that he’ll find us.” I said.


    “Probably. And then what?” Elias asked.


    “We have to find the heart of the realm.” I said.


    “What? Are you serious? That’s why we stayed? Lyra, you know that if you absorb that power then you


    can’t go


    home.” Elias said, grabbing my arm and stopping me from walking.


    “I know. Which is why I’m not going to. But I know that there’s more to this than I realize. I know that I can do something to help the realm otherwise I wouldn’t be here.” I said.


    “What do you have in mind?” He asked.


    < CHAPTER 115


    +25 Points


    “I don’t know. But whatever it is, I will be going home with you.” I promise. So Elias grabbed my hand and we started walking again trying to find where this vige used to be.


    When it finally came into view, we approached it with caution and we checked every hut to make sure that it was empty. And once we were sure that it was, we found the least destroyed one that still had a bed in it.


    “This feels too good to be true.” Elias said,ying down. <fn3f75> N?w ?ovel chapt?rs are published on FindN()vel</fn3f75>


    “I know. You get some rest.” I said.


    “What are you going to do?” He asked.


    “We can’t both sleep at the same time. You know that. We don’t know when he’s going to attack. So, you get some rest and I’ll be sitting here waiting.” I said, pulling out my quiver and I sat on a chair.


    I started looking at the arrows that I had left, and a sinking feeling hit me–I was running out of them faster than I had expected. I knew that I always had weapons attached to my hands whenever my ws came out, which offered some reassurance, but I still preferred having a backup, just in case. With that in mind, I got up carefully and began walking around the hut, examining the arrows and considering what I could do with them to make the most of what I


    had.


    I could tell that Elias didn’t really want to go to sleep while I was still sitting up and moving around, his eyes flicking toward me every so often, but it didn’t really matter. He passed out pretty quickly anyway, and that allowed me to quietly stand at the door of the hut, alert and watchful, scanning the empty ins and making sure nothing–or no one–was sneaking up


    on us.


    My stomach started rumbling, telling me that I was long overdue for food, and my mouth felt painfully dry. But this vige only had one water supply, and it looked etely dried up, cracked and lifeless under the harsh sun. I had no choice but to stand he.e and wait until we were on the move again before I could even think about satisfying my hunger. I forced myself to ignore it, to push the thought away. Instead, I focused on the dangers that surely awaited us ahead, letting images of snarling beasts and hidden traps upy my mind. Thinking about those threats distracted me almost immediately, and the pangs of hunger receded, at least for the moment, under the weight of looming peril.


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