state, amber eyes blazing, the scar on his chest throbbing like a war drum. Above, the ravens-a swirling maelstrom of black wings and blood-red eyes-screamed a jagged chorus, their caws slicing h

Eldershollow's ruins. His claws twitched, the distant howls of his father's werewolf pack-a vast, hidden legion-pu

, stood at his side, his face gray with exhaus

with fear. "Isabella's gone, but this... it's w

orde, but a fouler rot, like a grave ripped open. The ravens dove toward the forest, their screams sharper, as if her

ing forward, boots crunching a

w save for white-hot eyes that seared Magnus's soul. It moved with a predator's grace, frost trailing its steps, its hiss a psychic flaying that flooded his mind with visions of blood-soaked altars and howli

ling across his arms. The wraith lunged, talons raking the air, and Magnus met it, claws slashing through its ashen form. The impact quaked the ground, frost exploding where they coll

ion gave Magnus an opening. He drove his claws into its chest, black ichor spraying, its scream warping into a laugh that

heir," it hissed, dissolving into as

his partial transformation receding. Sweat mixed wi

ed. "Isabella's attack stirred

. Elyon, the rogue sorcerer, stepped into the flickering to

t, split into three shards-one in Isabella's pendant, one in your cursed blood, one lost to the

thened, rage flarin

cerer, or I tear

mile was

Key to merge her dual nature-human and horror-into a god. Your blood could stop her, or

the ravens circled, their red

ing toward the hills, their wings a storm. Magnus's scar pulsed, the pack's howls louder, tempting him to unle

ut through, sha

eyne's been too quiet since the attac

tracker, had sworn loyalty, but Korr's treachery still burned. The curse's hunger, the C

march for the Citadel at dus

r, ravenous. The ravens' caws grew shrill, their wings scattering as a crack split the earth near the gate, revealing a

lla's silver eyes haunted him, he