f the Obsidian C

striking the stone like thunder. The air was thi

the continent spread out before him. His generals, a group of

I should probably retreat to whatever chambers Kael had assigned me, but I couldn't

overed in soot and blood. He was trembling, his head

commanded. His

"Your Majesty... the Bla

over me, freezing th

o

one?" Kael demanded,

, his voice cracking. "But there was no one left to secure. The village is ash. The packho

Seraphina and the entire pack for what they had done to me. But to

g in his cheek. "Who did this? Was it

magic. Dark magic. The survivors... the few we found... they were babbling about shadows. A

fell deat

Lycans who feared nothing, but the mention of the Crimson Witch made

generals scoffed, though his voice lacked

h the room like a blade. "She is very real. And if she h

" the gen

the map, cutting across the room

he said

out from behind the pillar, the ey

Blackwood Pack?" I asked, for

. His presence was overwhelming, a dark, furious e

ed, his voice low so only I could hear. "She has been hunting the blood

went to my empty col

ow, you are the vessel. And she knows the seal is broken. She slaughtered the Black

rp and suffocating. "Then we

N

a hard, unyie

e hands gripping my shoulders

"We do not run from anyone. The Obsidian Citadel has stood for a

k," I argued, my voice ri

the ground beneath your feet yesterday. The power that choked the breath from a Dowager Queen. You a

was right, but the fear was still the

how to use it,

s hand sliding down to take mine. His grip was firm, grounding.

fortified. Send out scouts to track the witch's movements. And prepare the

nst their chests in salute and scatte

h a labyrinth of dark stone corridors. We moved so fast

going?" I aske

e Crimson Witch is coming, you need to be re

, open courtyard. The ground was covered in sand, and racks of weap

the yard. He drew a massive, curved blade from h

me," h

ked. "

" he repeated, his eyes n

ad. "I don't know how. It only h

voice cold. "Think of Damien. Thi

al blow. The sting of the whip

heat flared

sing the shift in the

lun

The flat of his blade whistled thro

hands up

outward, and Kael's blade collided with an invisible barrier. The force of th

cled me, his eyes glowing

" he co

again, faste

ds. I wasn't just defending; I was moving. My bo

e dark, swirling power inside me. I was exhausted, bruised, and bleeding from a small cut

Kael made

he opening and, instead of throwing up a shiel

ng him off balance. Kael stumbled,

d instantly. I stood there,

hing hard, his hair falling across

s smi

p. He stood up, brushing the sand from

nd, a piercing pain

he world tilted, the training

e Crimso

er black hair whipping around her pa

at a figure knee

as D

smiled, a terrifying, grotesque expression,

ed. "Kill the girl. Bring me her heart

sion s

the sand. Kael was instantly at m

you see?"

him, my eyes wi

e's not dead. She has him. And