bChapter /bb173 /b

    ra’s POV

    My face fell into my hands. Tears slipped between my fingers, but I didn’t even care to wipe them away. For what felt like an eternity, I stayed there, unmoving.

    When I finally forced myself to lift my head, I wiped the remnants of my tears. A deep breath filled my chest.

    I was done.

    I wasn’t going after Thorne. No matter how much my heart screamed for it, I couldn’t–no, I wouldn’t.

    Thorne had his own war to fight. He didn’t need me to y the hero, especially when his n had never made sense to me in the first ce. If he wanted to die for whatever cause he believed in, I couldn’t stop him.

    But… god, the ache in my chest… It didn’t go away. Even after making the most logical decision of my life, it felt like my heart was being twisted in knots.

    I stood up, shaking my head as if trying to clear my thoughts. My jacket fell loosely around my shoulders as I grabbed my sneakers, slipping them on with mechanical precision. I was going to leave, get away from this pce, get away from all of it…

    But then-

    Knocking.

    Wendy was at it again. Her voice echoing down the hallway, driving the maids up and downb, /bcleaning up the mess from the chaos earlier.

    I froze. No way I could be seen now. Not in this state.

    So, I did what anyone trying to avoid notice would do–I stayed still keeping the lights off and my breath shallow, waiting for the noise to die

    down.

    Forty minutester, the hall was silent again, and I knew it was my moment.

    I cracked the door, slipped into the hallway, and made a beeline for the West Wing. The pce was still bustling with guests and servants, but they were all distracted on the other side, thankfully.

    I took the staircase quickly, feet barely making a sound as I reached the ground floor. The West Wing was empty–perfect.

    But just as I thought I was in the clear…

    The floor gave way beneath me.

    The rumble started softly, like a growl far beneath the earth. It grew louder, louderb–/buntil the pce seemed to tremble, groaning like a living

    thing.

    The walls shook, and a deafening roar rattled my ears, like the entire foundation of the ce was being ripped apart.

    Artifacts fell, crashing to the ground with a terrifying crash. A chandelier above me swayed, then dropped straight down, bthe /bbcrystal /bbshards /breflecting the dim light as they shattered around me.

    I barely dodged in time. One of the flying ss shards scraped across my arm. My chest heaved as I swore under my breath.

    “What the hell is going on?”

    TR

    Another wave of destruction mmed into me, and I lost my footing. The floor cracked wide open beneath bme/bb, /band I fell b– /bbdropped /binto se abyss below.

    b“/bAHH!”

    The world spun, and my body mmed painfully against the ground. I groaned, trying to regain some sense of bnced, but the dust was thick, choking me as it filled my lungs.

    Two distinct howls tore through the air behind me.

    I whipped around, eyes wide with disbelief.

    The moon hung high, bathing the ruins in silver light, and in the middle of the wreckage stood two

    wolves.

    One was massive, sleek and ck as the night itself. The other was thin, sickly, its bones jutting out from its frame.

    I couldn’t breathe.

    Thorne and Lance.

    I’d known Thorne was meeting with Lance for the ritual, but this… this was something else. They were fighting, right hereb, /bright now. And bit /bwas destroying everything in its path.

    any

    I hadn’t heard the full conversation, but it didn’t matter. The fight spoke louder than words.

    “You lied to me, Thorne!” Lance growled, his voiceced with venom.

    “You said we were in this together,” Lance snarled, lunging at Thorne with a speed that made my stomach churn. “You promised me everything, but you just wanted the power, didn’t you?”

    The wolves shed, their teeth shing as they locked together in a brutal fight. Bones cracked.

    Thorne was dodging and striking back, but his movements were growing sluggish. It was clear he couldn’t keep this up forever.

    I had to do something.

    There had to be a way out of this.

    I darted behind a half–copsed pir, my heart pounding in my ears. The ground shook again, and I swore I could hear the walls groaning under the pressure.

    The wolves were locked in a death matchb, /bbut Thorne–he was weakening.

    Lance had no fear. He was relentless, and with each attack, he was leaving deep cuts on Thorne. This wasn’t going to end well.

    My eyes darted around, searching for anything, any way to stop this madness.

    There.

    A pir, leaning precariously against a crumbling wall.

    If I could knock it down, we could trap Lance, give Thorne the breathing room to escape.

    I had one shot.

    I rushed out from behind the pir and yelled, “THORNE!”

    He turned, his eyes narrowing with confusion.

    bI /bpointed at the pir. His expression changed instantly, and without a word, he understood.

    We didn’t need words. Not anymore.

    Thorne dove back into the fight, sinking his fangs into

    Lance’s neck, lifting him up with ease and tossing him at the wall

    The crash echoed through the ruins as the pir fell, crushing Lance under its weight.

    “Let’s go!” I shouted, already moving toward Thorne.

    The ck wolf crouched low, letting me climb onto its back. iWith /i

    a

    single bound, we were off, leaping over the debris and heading for bthe /b

    back gate.

    The pce was a ruin now, nothing more than crumbled stone and dust.

    Screams echoed in the distance, but we didn’t stop.

    The wind whipped past me, and I clung to the wolf’s fur, my eyes barely able ito /istay open against the rush.

    Minutester, we reached the woods near the South Gate, where Alden was waiting. He looked startled when he saw me.

    “ra, are you okay?” He asked, his eyes flicking to Thorne.

    I barely spared him a nced, pulling him close. “He’s hurt,” I hissed. “He needs help, now.”

    Alden hesitated. “Helping him wasn’t part of the n,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

    “Please,” I begged, my voice trembling. “It’s urgent. He’s dying.”

    As if on cue, a groan came from behind us.

    Thorne–back in human form–was staggering forward, blood pouring from a wound in ihis /iside. His face was pale, his body trembling.

    I rushed to him.

    i“/iThorne!” I screamed. “Hold on!”

    But it was toote. He copsed to his knees in front of mei, /ihis body failing him.

    And I knew–everything I feared was finally happening.

    AD