The forest had turned into a battlefield, and every shadow seemed alive, shifting, waiting. There was no room for hesitation anymore, no space to second-guess what lay ahead. Mal and I tore through the underbrush, our movements silent but deliberate. Every step we took sent a ripple through the tension wrapping around us, a tension that was building toward a single moment of release.
The distant snarls of the rogue wolves were growing louder, closer. They weren’t just hunting us-they were circling, cutting off potential escape routes like they’d done this before. But Mal’s earlier command echoed in my mind: We fight on our terms. This wasn’t a retreat; it was a setup, a calculated move in the game neither of us wanted to play but both had been thrust into.
Behind us, the shadow king followed, his presence pressing against my back like an invisible hand. He didn’t rush; he didn’t need to. The arrogance in his slow, deliberate pursuit set my teeth on edge. Every step of his was like a clock ticking toward some inevitable conclusion he’d already seen a hundred times. But what he didn’t know, what he couldn’t possibly account for, was that the conclusion he’d planned wasn’t going to happen tonight.
“Right here,” Mal whispered sharply, veering to the left and stopping abruptly in a small clearing ringed by towering trees. The branches arched above like skeletal fingers, blotting out the moonlight and casting long, twisting shadows across the forest floor.
My eyes darted around the space, assessing it with a clarity that felt almost supernatural. Mal hadn’t just stopped randomly; this was the place where we’d make our stand. It was cramped enough to funnel any attackers into specific points of entry but open enough for us to maneuver without being boxed in. It was perfect-and dangerous.
“What’s the plan?” I asked, though my hands were already glowing faintly, the hum of my power pulsating in the air around me. It was instinct now, responding to the growing threat like a muscle stretching after being dormant for too long. My palms itched to unleash it, but I held back. Timing was everything.
Mal didn’t answer right away. Her sharp green eyes were scanning the perimeter, calculating the angles, the paths the rogues would take to reach us. Her fingers twitched at her side, brushing against the hilt of the blade strapped to her thigh. I could see her lips moving, counting silently, as if every breath was measured against the seconds we had left before chaos descended.
And then, it began.
The first rogue burst through the trees, a hulking mass of fur and muscle, its jaws snapping with violent intent. Before I could react, Mal was moving, a blur of motion as her blade sang through the air, slicing cleanly across the wolf’s flank. It yelped, skidding to the side, but didn’t retreat. Instead, it regrouped, prowling along the edge of the clearing as two more emerged from the shadows, their eyes gleaming with predatory hunger.
I tightened my fists, feeling the familiar pull of my power roaring for release. “Mal-”
“Hold,” she snapped, her voice low but firm. Her back was to me, her stance unyielding as she faced down the advancing pack. “Wait for it.”
Another rogue lunged, and Mal met it mid-air, her blade slicing upward in a deadly arc. Blood sprayed, dark and thick, painting the forest floor. The wolf crumpled, lifeless, but its packmates didn’t even flinch. If anything, their movements grew faster, more erratic, as if they were being controlled by something greater than instinct.
And that’s when I saw him.
The shadow king stepped into the clearing, his mask gleaming under the faint light that filtered through the trees. He moved with the confidence of someone who had already won, his steps unhurried even as the rogues snarled and snapped around him like feral dogs. He didn’t look at Mal. He didn’t even look at me. His gaze was fixed on something beyond us, something only he could see.
“This is a waste,” he said, his voice smooth and cold. “You don’t even know what you’re fighting for.”
Mal straightened, her blade dripping with blood, and turned to face him fully. “We know enough,” she spat.
“Do you?” The shadow king tilted his head, his tone almost amused. “You think this is about them?” He gestured to the rogues with a lazy wave of his hand. “You think if you kill enough of them, it’ll end? You’re more foolish than I thought.”
“Then enlighten us,” I said, stepping forward. My voice was steady, but my heart was racing. Power was coursing through me, a flood I could barely contain. The air around me crackled, and I could feel the weight of the forest shifting in response to my presence. “What’s your plan? Or are you just another pawn pretending to play king?”
For the first time, his attention shifted to me. His eyes-gray, sharp, and unreadable-narrowed, and I felt the weight of his scrutiny like a physical force.
“You,” he said softly, almost curiously. “You’re different.”
I held his gaze, refusing to flinch, even as his words sank into my chest like barbed wire.
“Yeah, well,” I said, forcing a smirk, “different is what’s about to kick your ass.”
His laugh was low and sharp, like the scrape of steel against stone. “Brave words,” he said, taking another step closer. “But bravery without understanding is just ignorance.”
And then, without warning, he raised his hand.
The air around us seemed to collapse, folding in on itself as an invisible force exploded outward. The impact sent me stumbling back, my feet barely finding purchase as the ground trembled beneath me. Mal swore, her grip on her blade tightening as she braced herself against the force.
The rogues didn’t retreat, didn’t falter. If anything, they surged forward, their movements growing more coordinated, more relentless. And I realized, with a sickening clarity, that they weren’t just following him-they were an extension of him. He wasn’t their master. He was their creator.
“We can’t take them all,” Mal said, her voice strained. “Not like this.”
I clenched my fists, the power inside me roaring louder, demanding to be set free. “Then let’s even the odds.”
Before she could stop me, I stepped forward, the glow of my power spreading from my hands to the ground beneath me. The earth responded, trembling with anticipation, as I unleashed the force I’d been holding back.
A wave of energy rippled outward, slamming into the advancing rogues and sending them sprawling. The shadow king staggered, his mask tilting slightly as he steadied himself. For the first time, his arrogance faltered, replaced by something that almost looked like surprise.
But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. The power was pouring out of me now, wild and untamed, reshaping the battlefield with every pulse. Trees splintered, shadows recoiled, and the air itself seemed to bend under the weight of it.
And in the chaos, I saw it-a glimmer of fear in the shadow king’s eyes.
“You’re right,” I said, my voice cutting through the cacophony. “I don’t know what I’m fighting for.”
I stepped closer, the energy radiating from me like a storm.
“But I know what I’m fighting against.”
And in that moment, I decided: I wasn’t just surviving. I was winning.