The slow clap echoed through the clearing.
Every Lycan warrior drew their weapons.
Steel sang as blades left their sheaths.
Malakar smiled as though he had walked into a pleasant gathering instead of a battlefield.
“I must admit,” he said, his crimson eyes settling on Aria, “you look so much like your mother.” Aria’s grip tightened around the Moonblade.
“Don’t speak about her.” “Oh?” His smile widened.
“And why not?” “You stole her from me.” For the first time…
Malakar’s expression faltered.
“I didn’t steal her.” “I tried to save our family.” Kael stepped forward, placing himself between Malakar and Aria.
“You murdered your own king.” “You started a war that nearly destroyed the wolf kingdoms.” “You call that salvation?” Malakar laughed softly.
“History is written by the victors, Kael.” “But history…” His crimson eyes gleamed.
“…is rarely the truth.” The wind suddenly shifted.
A foul scent filled the clearing.
Rowan looked toward the trees.
“My King…” “They’re surrounding us.” Dark figures emerged from the forest.
Not rogues.
Not Lycans.
Something far worse.
Their skin was gray and cracked like stone.
Their eyes glowed with empty black flames.
Each carried rusted weapons stained with ancient blood.
One of the older Lycan warriors whispered in horror.
“Shadowborn…” Kael’s face hardened.
“Protect Aria.” The warriors immediately formed a circle around her.
Malakar sighed dramatically.
“I spent centuries creating them.” “It would be rude if you didn’t admire my work.” He lifted one hand.
“Kill them.” The Shadowborn charged.
The forest erupted into chaos.
Steel clashed.
Wolves roared.
Magic lit the darkness.
Rowan shifted into his massive silver wolf and slammed into three Shadowborn at once, sending them crashing through ancient trees.
Kael’s sword blazed with golden light.
Every strike reduced another enemy to black ash.
Yet…
For every Shadowborn that fell…
Two more emerged from the shadows.
“We’re being overwhelmed!” a captain shouted.
Aria watched in horror.
The Lycan warriors were fighting with everything they had.
Some were already wounded.
One fell to his knees.
Another barely blocked a killing blow.
Her heart pounded.
People are getting hurt because of me.
The thought cut deeper than any blade.
Then…
The pendant around her neck grew hot.
Not warm.
Hot.
A voice whispered inside her mind.
Lead.
Aria blinked.
“What?” Again, the voice came.
Gentle.
Ancient.
A queen does not hide behind her people.
She looked down at the Moonblade.
Its silver light pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat.
“Aria!” Kael shouted as he cut down another Shadowborn.
“Stay back!” She looked at him.
Then at the wounded warriors.
Then at the enemy closing in.
“I can’t.” Before anyone could stop her…
She stepped beyond the protective circle.
The Shadowborn rushed toward her.
Kael’s heart stopped.
“ARIA!” She raised the Moonblade.
The crescent symbol on her wrist burst into brilliant silver light.
The ground trembled.
Moonlight poured through the clouds, brighter than the sun.
The blade sang with ancient power.
Aria instinctively swung it once.
A wave of silver light exploded across the battlefield.
It swept through the forest like a tidal wave.
Every Shadowborn it touched froze.
Cracks of silver spread across their bodies.
Then…
One by one…
They dissolved into glittering dust.
Silence fell.
The forest was empty.
Every surviving warrior stared at Aria in stunned disbelief.
Even Malakar’s confident smile disappeared.
“No…” He whispered.
“She awakened it already?” Aria looked at the glowing sword in her hands.
“I didn’t…” “I don’t know how…” Kael slowly approached her.
His golden eyes were filled not with fear…
But with pride.
“You fought like a queen.” Before Aria could answer…
The earth shook violently.
A deafening roar echoed beneath their feet.
The ground split open less than fifty paces away.
Dark energy erupted into the sky.
From the massive crack rose an ancient stone archway covered in glowing runes.
Its center swirled with black mist.
Malakar threw back his head and laughed.
“The first seal is broken!” He spread his arms as the darkness poured from the gateway.
“Welcome…” “…to the Shadow Gate.” A gigantic claw, black as midnight and tipped with crimson talons, slowly reached through the swirling darkness.