[WARNING! Unedited! Don’t buy!]
We ran.
Not away.
Around.
Flanking.
Valerius and Sol were locked together, power tearing the air apart. We moved behind Valerius.
"Now!" I shouted.
Caroline unleashed everything she had.
Water crushed him from behind, slamming him forward into Sol’s shadows. The collision was violent enough to split the ground.
Valerius scread.
And vanished.
Just—gone.
The air stilled.
Sol collapsed to one knee.
Caroline dropped beside him. "Did we—?"
"No," Sol breathed. "But we hurt him."
My chest heaved.
Sol looked at Caroline. "You fought an immortal."
She stared at her hands. "I didn’t die."
"No," he agreed. "You did not."
Silence settled.
Then—
Sol smiled.
A real one.
"You are dangerous," he said.
Caroline swallowed. "Thank you?"
He stood. "Tomorrow will be worse."
I groaned. "Of course it will."
Sol vanished again.
Caroline slumped against . "I think I hate our life now."
I laughed weakly. "Sa."
But deep inside—
Sothing else stirred.
Not fear.
Not dread.
Hope.
We weren’t prey anymore.
We were learning how to bite back.
Valerius was gone.
Not dead—never dead—but gone in the way predators vanish when wounded. The air still carried his scent, sharp and tallic, a reminder that he would return.
Always.
Caroline sank to the ground, shaking violently. "I thought he was going to kill ."
I dropped beside her, pulling her into my arms. "You didn’t freeze. You didn’t run. You fought."
Her breath hitched. "I almost liked it."
That confession scared her more than anything else.
Sol watched us from a short distance away, his expression unreadable. "Power awakens sothing primal," he said quietly. "Do not confuse strength with righteousness."
Caroline nodded against my shoulder. "I won’t."
But doubt lingered in her eyes.
We spent the rest of the afternoon repairing what Valerius had destroyed. Not because the monastery mattered—but because rebuilding forced our hands to work, our minds to slow. Caroline steadied fallen stones with careful streams of water. I cleared debris, wincing every ti my ribs protested.
"You should rest," she said.
"So should you."
"Touché."
The sky burned gold as evening fell.
Sol reappeared near the archway. "You will not be attacked again tonight."
"How can you be sure?" I asked.
"Because Valerius does not retreat unless he must," Sol replied. "And he must now."
Caroline frowned. "We really hurt him?"
"Yes," Sol said. "Enough to wound his pride. That may be worse."
Great.
We ate what little food we had left—dry bread and a piece of fruit Caroline had sohow managed to keep uncrushed. Hunger gnawed at , but fear dulled it.
Night returned.
This ti, I let myself sleep.
Dreams ca anyway.
Water rising around .
Hands dragging under.
Valerius laughing as I sank.
I woke gasping.
Caroline was already awake, staring at the ceiling. "You too?"
"Yeah."
We sat up together.
"I keep thinking," she whispered, "what if I beco sothing I don’t recognize?"
I t her eyes. "Then I’ll remind you who you are."
Her lips trembled. "Promise?"
"I swear."
Morning broke with rain.
Soft at first. Then heavy.
Sol smiled faintly. "Perfect."
"For what?" Caroline asked.
"Today," he said, "you learn to fight blind."
My stomach dropped. "Absolutely not."
He ignored .
He led us outside into the downpour. Rain soaked through our clothes instantly, plastering hair to skin. The monastery courtyard beca slick stone and mud.
"Close your eyes," Sol ordered.
Caroline hesitated. Then obeyed.
"Feel the rain," he said. "Not with sight. With instinct."
Water moved around her imdiately, reacting like a living thing. Streams bent, droplets hovering.
"Now," Sol continued, "I will attack."
"What?!" I snapped.
Too late.
A burst of arcane slamd toward her.
Caroline scread—but the water moved on its own, slamming into the attack and dispersing it.
She staggered but stayed standing.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Attack after attack ca without warning. Caroline learned to feel the shift in the air, the ripple before impact. She blocked blindly, sotis barely in ti.
I paced the edge like a caged animal.
"Stop this!" I yelled.
"She must learn," Sol replied calmly. "Sight will fail her. Fear will blind her. Only instinct remains."
Caroline fell to one knee.
"Enough," she gasped.
Sol lowered his hand.
"Good," he said. "Better than yesterday."
She ripped off her blindfold, breathing hard. "You’re trying to kill !"
"Yes," he said simply. "So others won’t."
I wanted to hit him.
Instead, I hugged her.
She clung to . "I hate him."
"I know."
By afternoon, she could block strikes without looking.
Not perfectly.
But enough.
Progress.
Then Sol turned to .
"You," he said.
"What about ?"
"You are not helpless," he replied. "You just believe you are."
"I don’t have arcane."
"No," Sol said. "But you have sothing older."
The necklace burned.
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
"Your bloodline," he said. "Your wolf."
My chest tightened. "I can’t shift."
"Yet."
Caroline stared. "Yet?"
Sol studied . "You lost it. That does not an it is gone."
Hope slamd into so hard it hurt.
"You can bring it back," he continued. "But it will cost you."
"Everything costs sothing with you."
"Yes."
I swallowed. "What do I do?"
"Tonight," Sol said, "you will bleed."
Caroline gasped. "No."
"Voluntarily," he added. "A ritual. Old. Painful. Necessary."
I didn’t hesitate. "Fine."
"No," Caroline said fiercely. "You’re not doing this alone."
Sol nodded. "Good."
The ritual circle was drawn at dusk.
Symbols carved into stone. Candles lit. Blood required.
Mine.
I sliced my palm without flinching.
It burned.
Dripped.
The necklace pulsed violently.
Sol began to chant—not words I recognized. The air thickened. The forest went silent.
Pain exploded in my chest.
Not physical.
Internal.
Like sothing tearing its way back to life.
I scread.
Caroline held .
"Stay," she whispered. "Don’t leave ."
I clutched her wrist. "I’m here."
The pain intensified.
Images flooded —
Running.
Hunting.
Moonlight on fur.
My wolf.
Trapped.
Starving.
I felt it.
Myself.
I sobbed.
"Let it in," Sol commanded.
I did.
Sothing broke.
Power surged.
Not arcane.
Wild.
Primal.
The candles went out.
Wind howled.
I collapsed.
When I woke—
The world slled different.
Sharper.
Louder.
Alive.
Caroline stared at . "Your eyes..."
"What?" I whispered.
"They’re glowing."
Sol smiled slowly. "Welco back."
I sat up.
Strength thrumd through my veins.
Not full.
But real.
"I can feel her," I whispered. "My wolf."
Tears spilled down Caroline’s face. "You did it."
"No," I said quietly. "We did."
Far away—
Sothing howled in answer.
Valerius.
Or sothing worse.
Sol’s smile faded. "They felt that."
I t his gaze. "Good."
Because this ti—
I wouldn’t run.
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