“He predate vampires,” Lucian continues, his voice dropping and carrying a weight that makes the forest feel closer, denser, “He predate what they are trying to raise, and he is older than wolf packs, older than your precious species divisions.”
My breath catches despite myself, my mind flicking back to the orb and the way it had reacted, the way the light had surged when emotions ran high.
“There was a time before all of this,” Lucian says, gesturing vaguely toward the land around us, “before packs, before covens, before the moon was something you prayed to instead of feared, and there was something then that did not belong to any one people.”
My fists clench at my sides. “And you think that’s an excuse.”
Lucian’s eyes flash briefly. “I think it is context.”
He steps closer again, ri
