Magnus Varik stood at the threshold, his jaw tight, silver-flecked eyes fixed on the black maw that loomed before them. No one spoke. The Citadel didn't invite-it devoured, drawing them in

ate slammed shut with a finali

indigo to pitch. Magnus's longsword, etched with runes of old wolf-blood, twitched in his grip, as if it sensed the evil woven into the stone. He scanned the vast corridor, its ceiling arched like the ribs of some ancient beast, w

rough tongue of the northern clans, each word a snarl. To their left, Veyne, the pack's s

voice sharp. "Right flank

threat, trusting his pack to follow. They did. The Bloodfang Pack was no mere band of warriors-they

a grotesque mockery of wolves, with elongated limbs, eyeless sockets, and maws that screamed without sound. The first struck a young packmate, Tarek, it

. Magnus surged forward, his blade flashing, its runes blazing as he carved through two more. The sword hummed, alive with the old magic of his bloodline, reac

g like the breath of a dying beast. The walls now bore faces-human, wolf, and something worse-trapped in the stone, their eyes following, weeping, snarl

eyne hisse

rs. At its center stood a throne of bone and twisted flesh, pulsing as if it breathed. Upon it sat a figure-neither man nor beast-bound in chains

g him, heavy with ancient malice. He was no stranger to horror. He'd torn through

e's occupant stirred-not ph

whispered, its voice a blade of ice and gr

narrowed. "The

hing wider. The throne pulsed. The chains creaked, spitting sparks of black fire.

tilted, and the

ng, his bones snapping. His flesh unraveled, fur and muscle peeling away until h

ink. Rage burned

word. Its runes flared white, cutti

ed, and the floor

"But I will show you. You, Magnus Varik, carry th

l-not his own-echoed from somewhere deep w

nothing of

twitching. "Your father's betrayal. That blade-it was forge

d the figure rose, its form twisting-a towering horror of fur, bone, and burning veins, its face

m with a sound-a wail that shredded the air. Blood poured from Korr's ears, but he

exploding in a storm of white fire that scorched the stone. The beast stagger

its voice cracking the walls. "AND YOU

erupted from his blade, consuming the creature. When the flames

Citadel

ping from his fur, eyes g

The Citadel knows us