Lyra's POV
The moment my wolf surged upward, the world snapped into sharp, merciless focus.
Cold fire flooded my veins, liquid, electric, ancient. My lungs expanded too quickly, as if the air itself had thickened. Every sound sharpened, every scent erupted into clarity. I no longer felt like I was in a clearing.
I felt like I was in a storm.
The shadows behind Kaelan screamed, an unearthly hiss that vibrated through the roots of trees and into my bones. The curse recoiled at my rising aura, but it didn't retreat. It stretched, clawing toward me, hungry. Desperate.
Kaelan roared, throwing his whole weight back against the darkness, claws carving trenches into the earth. His body shook with the strain, muscles twitching, veins bulging with the corruption's pulse.
He wasn't just fighting for himself.
He was fighting to keep that thing away from me.
For the first time, I truly understood the depth of his pain.
And the fury that rose inside me was so intense it tasted metallic.
