Behind us, the wolves clashed again. The Silver Wolf surged back to her feet, her fangs sinking into Malore’s shoulder. He roared, his body smoking where the fire had already burned him, his memories still unraveling in sparks. He swiped his claws, raking her side, but she did not falter.
The fire circled them tighter, the ground itself glowing beneath their paws.
My body burned, my chest heaving, every nerve screaming with heat.
The Flame Ward wasn’t content to be wielded. It wanted to consume, to devour, to end. And if I let it, it wouldn’t stop with Malore. It would take Keegan, my father, the Academy, and everything.
I clenched my teeth, forcing the flames to narrow, to tighten only around Malore. The effort tore through me, searing my veins, but I held.
“Maeve…” Keegan’s voice rasped, low and desperate. “You’ll burn yourself alive.”
“Then I burn,” I whispered. “But not before he does.”
Malore’s shadowed face twisted, his stormlight flickering, his voice a roar of fury and fear. “You cannot end me, girl! Fire fades! Shadow is eternal!”
The Silver Wolf lunged again, her jaws tearing into his throat. My fire blazed brighter, searing deeper into his storm-flesh, stealing more memories, unraveling more of him.
And for the first time, I saw fear in his eyes.
But I also saw an opportunity.
His gaze flicked past me. Past the Silver Wolf. Past the flames.
To Keegan.
And before I could stop him, Malore surged, breaking through the fire, his claws lashing out, not at me, not at her, but at the man trembling on the steps, caught between wolf and man.
“NO!” I screamed, fire bursting wild again.
Keegan staggered, his body shuddering, the shift tearing at him with violent force. He was too weak, too drained. If Malore struck him now…
The Silver Wolf moved first.
With a howl that split the storm, she hurled herself across the courtyard, silver light blazing. She slammed into Malore’s side, knocking his claws wide, dragging him down in a spray of sparks and smoke.
The ground cracked under their weight, fire and shadow exploding outward.
I shielded my face, my body trembling, my veins blazing with the Flame Ward’s fury.
And when I looked up, they were still locked in battle with her silver light against his shadows and my fire circling them both.
Beside me, Keegan collapsed to his knees, his body still fighting, still trembling. His hazel eyes flicked gold, then hazel again, his voice a broken whisper.
“Maeve…”
I gripped his shoulders, the fire still blazing around us, my heart pounding as though it would crack my ribs.
The battle wasn’t over.
Not by a long shot.
But the Flame Ward still burned in me, hotter and brighter, and I knew it would demand more before the night was through.
The courtyard burned like a forge, the earth split and glowing with the Flame Ward’s fury. Malore’s roars rattled the stones as he clashed with the Silver Wolf, her silver glow blazing,her fangs sunk deep into his smoking form. My fire circled them both, searing deeper, stealing fragments of him, but it wasn’t enough.
Because he wasn’t aiming at me anymore.
His gaze kept flicking past me, toward the steps where Keegan knelt, his body convulsing as the wolf clawed from within. His hazel eyes flashed gold, his jaw lengthening, his claws half-formed. The curse tugged at him, feeding on his weakness, and Malore knew it.
