The circle of Wraithwolves tightened.
Kael stood in front of Lira like a wall of stone, his chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. For the first time since escaping the Shadow Forge, the shadows did not obey him.
He had burned through too much power.
The wolves sensed it.
Their growls deepened—hungry, triumphant.
Kael's hands curled into fists. He could still fight… but not like before. Not with endless, devouring darkness.
This time, he had only his strength.
His body.
His will.
And Lira behind him.
One wolf lunged.
Kael met it head-on, slamming his forearm into its throat. Bone cracked. He twisted, driving his elbow into the creature's skull until it fell limp.
A second wolf attacked from the left.
Kael pivoted, grabbing its jaw mid-snap. Blood sprayed across his face as he forced the jaw apart with brute strength.
But the third wolf was faster.
It crashed into him from behind, its claws tearing into his shoulder. Kael staggered, pain ripping through him like fire.
Lira screamed. "KAEL!"
He fell to one knee.
Blood dripped from his wounds—black-red, thick, unnatural. The shadows inside him trembled, sluggish, too weak to rise.
Another wolf bit into his side.
Kael gritted his teeth, grabbed its snout, and smashed its head into a tree. Bark split. Bone shattered.
But his body was weakening.
This was different from battle with soldiers.
These creatures moved like magic given form—relentless, wild, unthinking.
More wolves circled.
Lira ran to Kael's side, tears streaking her face. "You're hurt—Kael, you're bleeding—"
He pushed her back sharply. "Stay behind me."
"But—!"
"Stay. Behind. Me."
The ground trembled as another wolf pounced. Kael threw himself in front of Lira, taking the hit directly. Its claws raked across his chest, tearing through skin and muscle.
He choked out a breath—his first real sound of pain.
Blood splattered across the dirt.
Lira froze.
This was the moment she realized:
Kael wasn't invincible.
He wasn't untouchable.
He could bleed like anyone else… maybe even more painfully.
A wolf lunged for her again—aiming for her throat.
Kael moved faster than thought.
He shoved her aside, his body taking the full force of the attack. The wolf's teeth sank into his arm, ripping a chunk of flesh free.
Kael gasped.
The pain was blinding.
But he didn't retreat.
He rose, grabbed the wolf by the spine, and tore it away from him with raw fury. He slammed it to the ground and stomped its skull with enough force to break the earth beneath it.
His breath was ragged.
His skin was pale.
His shadows flickered weakly, like dying embers.
The remaining wolves sensed victory.
They crept forward, ready to end him.
Lira stared at his shaking form—bruised, bloodied, barely standing. Her pendant glowed faintly, reacting to her fear.
Then she made a choice.
Something bold.
Something foolish.
Something that would change everything.
Lira ran toward Kael and threw her arms around him from behind.
He froze.
"What—are you—doing?" he rasped, voice trembling.
"I'm not leaving you," she whispered.
Her pendant touched his back.
A surge of silver light exploded outward.
Kael felt warmth slam through him—jarring, blinding, almost painful. His shadows recoiled in shock. His wounds sizzled, steaming under the sudden radiance.
The wolves shrieked, backing away from the light as if burned.
Kael staggered, overwhelmed. Light was poison to shadow-magic—he had been taught that all his life.
But this light… didn't kill him.
It hurt, yes. It seared through him like fire and ice colliding.
Yet it did something else too:
It awakened him.
The shadows, sensing the threat, flared in panic—and then surged back, stronger.
Not because Kael commanded them.
Because they were protecting him.
A storm of darkness erupted from Kael's body, swirling around Lira without touching her, shielding her inside a cocoon of shadow.
Kael opened his eyes.
They burned completely black—no iris, no pupil, only void.
The wolves realized too late:
They were no longer hunting.
They were being hunted.
Kael spoke, voice layered with something not entirely human:
"Now… you die."
The shadows tore through the clearing like a living nightmare.
Wolves didn't even have time to scream.
When it was over, the forest fell silent.
Kael stood trembling, shadows slowly sinking back into his skin. The black void faded from his eyes, replaced by their usual crimson glow.
Lira stepped toward him carefully.
"Kael…?"
His breathing was ragged. Blood dripped from his wounds. He looked exhausted, haunted.
But when he looked at her—
—for the first time—
his expression wasn't cold.
It was confused.
Fragile.
Almost afraid.
"You…" he whispered. "Your light… didn't kill me."
Lira swallowed. "I didn't want to hurt you."
Kael stared at her pendant.
Then at her.
And something inside him shifted—dangerous, fragile, new.
"Don't," he said softly.
"Don't ever risk yourself for me again."
Lira shook her head, tears in her eyes. "Then stop trying to die."
Kael didn't know how to answer that.
He didn't even know what the strange, aching warmth in his chest was.
But he knew one thing:
The world had just changed.
Because for the first time in his life…
someone had held him.
And he didn't want to let go.