massive werewolf form heaving, claws dripping black ichor. The beast's golden eyes locked on Isabella, the silver-eyed queen, her cloaked figure framed by the smoldering ruins. Her vampires-p

-Toren, the guards, the servants-yet a shred of his humanity chain

silver, sharp as a blade. Her smile was a riddle, both lure

lvet blade, "you fight like a god, yet ble

pires stilled, their red eyes

in the Citadel's heart.

ing him to summon them, to drown her in fur and fang. But Elyon's warning-the rogue sorcerer's cryptic words about the Key and the For

, his voice a guttural st

shard of ice, pi

consumes you. The Old War's

icker of shadow that stung his eyes. The vampires melted into the burning forest, th

receding. Pain lanced through him, his human form trembling, sweat mixing with blood. He staggered, one hand clutching the scar on his chest, where the curse's mark pulsed like

e ruins, his face gray

ef, "she's gone, but the fires spread. The fores

gle raven circled, its black wings slic

there since the attack.

ey of Destruction. The bird's eyes glinted, unnatural, as if it saw through him. Another caw, joined by a second raven, then a third, their wings a dark chorus above the wreckage. T

ce rough, human but edged with the beast.

Jakob, amber

knows more than he's said-about

his gaze flickeri

saw it. The beast-it's stron

ush of claws and fangs, the ease of slaughter. Each transformation eroded the man he'd been, leaving only the

s voice barely above a whisp

surviving guards. Magnus lingered, his gaze on the ravens, now a dozen, circling tighter,

ed under fallen beams. The journal still rested on the shattered desk, its

wl to the pale drinkers' queen. The Suldari, our ancient kin, fell to its power, their wolves twisted int

, yet tied to Isabella's quest. His rage flared, mingled with dread. Was his curse the Key's echo, a weapon she sought?

a guard. Elyon stepped into the flickering torchlight

a cold hum. "Isabella hunts the Key, but she is not its master. T

ngthened, his rag

r, or I tear your sec

mile was

la's vampires are but pawns-her true power lies in her duality, a bridge betwe

e the birds swirled, their e

atching the curse's heirs. Find

, their wings a storm above the estate. Magnus's vision sharpened, the curse searing his blood, the pack's howls l

ed in his gut. The empire was his cage, the curse

hout brok

n gate-something's

lowed, not vampire,

, the beast stirring. Whatever Isabella had unleashed, it wasn't finish