We are broken. But together, we rally.
And tomorrow, we rise.
26
SILAS
The world is fire and blood.
The camp is no longer a camp. It is a battlefield, a graveyard in the making. The snow burns black where torches have spilled, where witches’ fire has scorched, where wolves and foxes clash in snarling knots of teeth and steel. The air is thick with smoke, the sky alive with sparks, and every breath tastes of ash and iron. My fox presses sharp beneath my skin, his amber eyes blazing, his body ready to strike. He knows what I know.
Roman is here.
I carve a path through the chaos, my claws tearing into foxes that once called me brother, their eyes wide with fury or fear as they fall. A wolf barrels past me, his jaws clamped around a fox’s throat, dragging him down in a spray of blood. Magic crackles overhead—Tessa’s vision-born strikes guiding bolts of light into shadows where enemies wait. Jennifer’s voice rises, commanding, turning fox against fox. Angie’s power steadies the faltering, dragging the wounded to their feet to fight again.
But all of it fades under the pull.
Every step I take, the tether tightens. Every breath, the scent of him sharpens—burning fur, hot blood, the sting of fox-fire that has always marked him as more than beast, less than god. My heart pounds, my claws drip, my body shakes with rage and hunger. I have dreamed of this moment, feared it, bled for it. Now it is here.
And then I see him.
Roman stands tall in the heart of the camp, where the flames rise highest. His coat of black fur gleams red in the firelight, his fox-fire burning in his eyes, his claws slick with blood. Bodies lie at his feet—wolf and fox alike—and still he smiles, calm as ever, as though this slaughter is nothing but a game.
He lifts his head when he sees me, his grin cutting sharp. “Little brother.” His voice carries even over the battle, clear and cruel. “You came home.”
The words dig into me like old chains snapping shut. My fox snarls, torn between obedience and fury, his body quivering with old commands, old habits. Roman’s eyes burn hotter, the weight of his presence pressing down, suffocating. I taste blood in my mouth, my jaw clenched tight.
But I step forward, one pace, then another, steady, sure. “I’m not yours anymore.”
Roman laughs, a sharp bark, ugly. “Not mine? You bled for me. You killed for me. You were my shadow, Silas. Always behind me, always less. You think one wolf bitch’s words undo that?”
Mary’s voice floods me then, cutting through his venom.You’re not a mistake. You’re mine.
I bare my teeth, my claws curling. “I cut free because of me.”
His smile drops. His fox erupts.
He comes at me in a blur of fire and claws, the air itself searing as he strikes. I twist aside, barely, his claws slicing across my chest, blood spraying hot. Pain sears, but my fox snaps back,my claws raking his ribs, tearing through flesh. He snarls, his fire roaring hotter, his fists striking like hammers.
We crash together, rolling in the snow, claws slashing, teeth snapping, blood spilling fast. He’s stronger, heavier, his fox-fire scorching every place it touches, burning my skin raw. But I am faster. My fox twists, dodges, slips beneath his strikes, cutting deep where he doesn’t expect.
“Always beneath me!” he roars, slamming me into the snow, his claws pressing into my throat. “Always second, Silas. Always nothing!”
My vision blurs, his fire searing my neck, his breath choking me. My fox thrashes, snarling, desperate. Roman’s grin widens, victory burning in his eyes.
But I find breath. I find rage.
“No,” I rasp, blood in my teeth. “Not anymore.”
I twist, wrenching free, my claws sinking deep into his side. He howls, fire exploding, but I drive harder, striking again and again, ninety years of fury spilling through every blow. My claws rake his chest, my teeth tear his shoulder, my fox howls so loud the trees quake. The snow beneath us runs red, steaming under the heat of our bodies.
At last, I pin him. My claws press against his throat, his chest heaving beneath me, his fire sputtering in the snow. His eyes blaze still, hate burning bright, but his body falters, broken under my strikes.
I could end him now. One push. One slash.
But I don’t.
I lean close, my breath hot, blood dripping onto his fur. My voice comes low, raw, final. “I’m done being your shadow.”
