ya's

g away, then paused. His ne

orpse until nightfall. Let his death weig

still, Zevarion knelt beside t

y to hurl blame like stones, quick to cast judgment, yet blind to the monsters th

lowly into nightfall. When we finally stopped to rest, the corpse was cut down and la

to murmurs and snores, I crept away with a piece of meat wrapp

only warmth I trusted anymore. I handed him the food and sat b

uttered. "You saw what they did when

the meat slowly, ch

"It's instinct, survival. When you take everything from someone, all that's

ated. "You still

ied. "Vireya... we can't always blame people for how they

cted. Again, Zevarion made sense

s mad

her pleading for hope through compassion. And me, caught between them li

: both were right. And i

routine. Xareth allowed rest every two days, enough time for t

ehind their eyes. And those who fell injured or too slow? Xareth exe

areth would notice eventually, how could he not? But he said not

as torn be

grounded. He believed in me, even when I didn't. He believed there wa

me peace. He offered power. Not acceptance, but dominance. Where

is tone was casual, even warm, as he painted a vision of the life he could gi

out my wolf. If she came out, wild and brutal, she co

mething," I said, grip

his attention shar

I can't reach her. I'm afraid that when she come

He simply nodded, as though this w

ome, I'll help you control her," he

wned.

rfect smile. "Worry not, my dea

n his tone kept me silent. Maybe he had a plan, maybe he

pack of blood magic, just as the sun dipped below the horiz

on and etched with runes that pulsed faintly in the twilight.

ings rose tall and close, constructed from blackened stone and obsidian g

their eyes sunken and wary. Most wore threadbare clothes and bore marks, burns, cuts, symbols etch

s something born of nightmares. The gate alone made me shiver. Two massive statue

, and gaping mouths filled with jagged, bloodstained teeth. Their black sto

ws, falling to the ground in slow, deliberate plops that e

d slammed the

ce casual. "Fear not. The castle i

imply nodded, preten

was breathtaking in a way that didn'

spiraled upward from the marble basins and twisted like serpents before

like, and the structure climbed upward in tapering layers, almost like a dark tre

d like veins of molten gold, as though the castle had its own lifeb

low. They moved like whispers, silent,

and, his grip firm but not unkind. "Co

, he didn't even gl

eed rest. Tomorrow, I'll decide

unison and began dragg

k majesty of this place, the way it gnawed at my senses. This was no

ooked like it should have taken ten men to budge it. The heavy blackwoo

uisite, and haunted all at once. The floors were made of obsidian st

ost in shadow. Dark velvet drapes cascaded down the

marble counters, and artful mirrors rimmed in gold, but each item radiated

into serpentine shapes. At the top, Xareth led me down a corridor li

r wine-red, except for the golden pieces, small, rare, and gleaming, like precious moments hidden in an otherwise curs

ssive windows behind them. A chandelier dangled above, an iron web of thorns and

ttling smile. He immediately adjusted his expression, but my