"My son is stronger than any pure-blood child," she said, her voice steady despite her fear. "His father will?—"
"His father has been detained," Umbra said, younger then but already cruel. "For the crime of diluting our species."
What happened next burned into my memory forever. They didn't touch her and they didn't need to. Shadow magic works differently on humans. They simply surrounded her, their darkness pressing in, extracting her life essence breath by breath.
I watched her collapse. Watched her skin gray and wither. Heard her final whisper: "Varkolak, live."
My father arrived too late, his roar of anguish shaking the mountain itself. In his rage, he killed three Elders before they subdued him. His punishment was to live, to serve on theCouncil that had murdered his mate, to raise the half-breed son alone.
To never speak of what happened.
The memory faded as I approached the Void Chamber. Four guards stood at the entrance, their shadows alert and writhing.
"Turn back, Varkolak," the leader said. "This is Council business."
"Aya is my business." I stepped forward, letting my control slip further. Darkness spilled from me in waves, filling the corridor.
"We have orders?—"
"So do I."
I didn't give them time to prepare. My shadows struck like vipers, disabling rather than killing. These were my people, after all. Misguided, but following orders.
Within moments, they lay unconscious, and I stood before the ancient door carved with warnings in our old language:That which enters whole may leave broken. That which is broken may leave whole.
I pushed it open.
The Void Chamber earned its name. A perfect sphere carved from the living mountain, its walls absorbing all light. At its center floated a pool of liquid darkness, not shadow magic but something older, deeper.
Aya hung suspended above it, her body arched in pain, her eyes wide but unseeing. Five Elders stood around her, including my father. Their shadows connected to hers, pulling something from her.
Her memories. Her feelings. Her soul.
"STOP!" My voice thundered through the chamber.
The Elders turned as one, their concentration broken. Aya sagged in her magical bonds.
My father stepped forward. "Son, you don't understand what's at stake."
"I understand everything." I moved closer, my shadows spreading to fill the chamber. "You're trying to take her from me, just like you took my mother."
Murmurs rippled through the Elders. Many hadn't been present for that atrocity.
"Your mother was different," my father said, his voice pained. "The bond between you and this human threatens our entire species."
"How?" I demanded. "How does love threaten anyone?"
Elder Mira spoke up, her female voice rare among our leadership. "The prophecy, Varkolak. 'When shadow loves light, darkness will fall.' Your union could destroy us all."
I laughed bitterly. "A children's tale to keep us isolated. To keep us afraid."
"The ritual is nearly complete," my father said. "She'll remember nothing of us, of you. She'll return to her people unharmed."
I looked up at Aya, her body limp, face contorted. "Does she look unharmed to you?"
Without waiting for their response, I attacked. Not with rage this time, but with precision. My shadows sliced through their magical bonds, severing their connection to Aya. She fell toward the dark pool.
I lunged forward, catching her before she touched its surface. The Elders recovered quickly, their combined power pressing against me.
