NADIA
The air felt heavier than before—a stillness layered in dread. Smoke drifted from the torched edges of the battlefield, but it wasn't the only thing clogging my lungs.
Something unseen pressed down on me, like the earth itself was mourning. My pulse roared in my ears. Each breath I took felt like it could be my last.
The wolves were faltering. Their howls grew fainter, their movements sluggish. A once indomitable force now shrinking like shadows before sunrise.
The strength of the pack—the very essence that tied us together—was draining away.
My feet sank into blood-soaked dirt as I moved, stumbling forward, eyes searching desperately for him.
"Asher," I whispered first. Then louder. "Asher!"
I spotted him just beyond the thick haze of ash and moonlight, standing face to face with a monstrous figure. Silican. Or what used to be Silican.
His body was twisted now…veins black, skin pale, a low snarl curving his lip.
