hilling contrast to the heat of the Soul-Resonance still pulsing through my veins. Fenris stood frozen,

ing over stone. "It is not just a contract of marriage, Lyra. It is a key. A

read. "The High Council... they didn't want Lyra back for the blessing. T

ly. "Mother, what are you saying? You told me to hi

s not a gift, Lyra. It is a fire that consumes everything it touches. But the Council... They have found a way to harness that f

ion shook the fortress, and for a moment, the golden lig

is only one way. Your blood is still fighting itself. You are still holding onto the 'omega' identity they

knew the answer. I could feel the dormant power in

rely. You must let the Lycan blood burn away every trace of the Silver Moon's influence. It w

leading a march of rot toward our gates. I looked at the

t," I

center of the room was a pit of white-hot liquid metal, the "Blood of the Moun

Fenris

ire. I felt vulnerable, the cold air of the chamber biting at my skin, but Fenr

e heat. If you resist, you will turn to ash. Yo

into the w

was my DNA unspooling. I screamed, the sound echoing off the obsidian w

esisted, clinging to my spirit like a parasite. I saw images of my life in the Silver Moon: the cold nights in t

mind fracturing under t

a of white fire. "Focus on the Resonance, Lyra! Do not look at the past.

ul-Resonance flared to a blinding intensity. I felt his Lycan s

l I could hear the heartbeat of every Lycan in the fortress, the rustle of the leaves in the

ega" mark fin

, knocking Fenris back and cracking the obsidian pillars

but I wasn't the same

lor of a winter storm. But it was my eyes that had changed the most. They were no longer t

eath my feet. I didn't feel the cold anymore. I didn'

of pure, unadulterated awe on his face. He droppe

has awakened,"

wasn't just a part of the Black Ridge; I was its mistress. The "hidden blessing

ice resonating with a new, terrifying authority. "Let them t

didn't just fit now; it fused. I was a wa

ract is no longer 'fake.' I am the Queen of the

ready, Lyra. The Council's undead are at the border. They expect a broke

hall, but as we passed th

room I recognized-the High Council's inner sanctum. Five Alphas

suspended in a cage of silver w

alization hitting me like a p

illness" I had felt weeks before the ceremony... the "fa

len my child during the "healing" sleep after the

rce of the siphoned power. They weren't using

ipped out of my throat that the gl

back with a burst of violet energy t

I roared, the mountai

the ghost of my mother appeared once mo

s what they've *made* from you. If you destroy that heart, you kill the on