But something in me already had.
The shadow-wolf touched its nose to my mark.
Light exploded.
The world vanished.
I stumbled onto a stone floor under a blood-red sky. Black towers rose on every side, crumbling and jagged, their tops lost in dark clouds. The air smelled of fire and rain, of something ancient and forgotten.
In front of me, a long staircase led up to a massive throne carved from obsidian. Shapes lined the steps—wolves, but not alive. Statues, their eyes set with burning embers.
At the top of the stairs, a figure stood. Cloaked, hooded, unmoving.
“You came.” The voice said, layered and deep, like a chorus speaking as one.
I tried to step back, but my feet wouldn’t move.
“Where… am I?” I whispered.
“In the place between.” The voice said. “Where your blood remembers wh
