But as she reached the far end of the hall, her eyes searching desperately for the familiar rift that had brought her here, a soft tsk cut through the silence, freezing her mid-step.
Elara’s heart skipped, a knot of dread forming in her stomach as she slowly turned back. It felt like the temperature dropped several degrees; the air growing dense with the threat of violence.
Shadows bled from Osin's fingertips.
“But not until your littlefriendreturns what doesn't belong to him.”
Chapter 3
Fenlin's gaze, wild with panic, caught Elara’s in a fleeting moment—a silent, desperate scream of warning. But just as quickly as their eyes met, he spun on his heel and ran.
Elara's heart did more than skip—it ceased altogether, as if time itself had fractured. She had no time to process, to understand, as within the space of those shattered seconds, Osin flew.
He was twilight incarnate, a blur against the fading light, moving with unnatural speed. She'd known, of course, about his dominion over the shadows, the way the night seemed to curl affectionately around his fingertips, gathering in the hollows of rooms he frequented. Never had she imagined he couldbecomethat very darkness.
Elara’s hands shook as she watched Fenlin flee, Osin’s shadows snapping at his heels like ravenous hounds. She couldn’t move, paralyzed by helplessness.
Like a bolt of lightning slicing through the darkness, Godfrey threw himself in Osin's path.
Sweat glistened on the Druid's flushed face, trailing down his temples. His gaze never wavered from his masters. Godfrey, the man who had always adhered to the rules, who had never soughtto stand out, now positioned himself against the Lord Sovereign in a move that Elara could only interpret as a desperate bid to grant Fenlin a few precious moments.
As his hands danced, a crescendo of crackling energy ignited. The air fractured, splitting apart with a resounding snap, and a shimmering barrier materialized before Godfrey. It hummed with an otherworldly resonance, cascading ripples through the chamber like waves upon a still pond.
But as the shield formed, the ambient light began to waver. It seemed to be drawn to Osin, gravitating toward him like iron filings to a magnet.
Elara's breath came in ragged gasps.
Move, move, move.
But her legs might as well have been pillars of stone for all the good they did her. Everything felt distant, surreal, as if she floated outside her own body watching a nightmare unfold in slow motion. It wasn't until Osin's laugh—a chilling, honeyed sound that slithered around the room—that she snapped out of it.
“Fen!” Her voice cracked, raw with terror, as she forced her body into motion.
But Osin's shadows were quicker, more ruthless.
They surged like a dark wave, smashing through Godfrey's barrier with brutal ease. With predatory speed, they seized the Druid, then whipped around to snag Fenlin by the ankle. In one swift motion, he was yanked across the cold stone floor, his body coming to a harsh stop next to Godfrey.
Elara's body screamed in protest, her movements sluggish and uncoordinated as she raced toward them, but then—like hitting an invisible wall—she stopped cold in her tracks.
“Time to go, Hallowed.” His gruff voice fanned out between them, prickling the hairs on the back of her neck. His handclamped around her arm with an iron grip, anchoring her to the spot.
Elara didn't have to glance back to identify its owner; she'd know the voice of the Hunter anywhere. But right now, the threat felt secondary. Thought gave way to sheer instinct as she wrenched her arm free and sank her teeth deep into the tender flesh of his wrist.
The muffled yelp that escaped him—so out of place from the stoic warrior he was—might have made her laugh if the situation weren’t so dire. His grip faltered, and he stumbled back, cursing under his breath.
She didn’t wait. She ran.
Her heart pounded like a war drum, each beat a hammer against her ribs, propelling her forward in a surge of panic.
Faster, her mind screamed, urging her trembling legs as she dashed through the rows of towering pillars toward the two men. She didn't know how she could help once she got there, but doing nothing was not an option.
Her bare feet slapped against the cold marble, echoing sharply in the vast chamber as Osin wielded his shadows with a cruel flick, hurling Fenlin into the air like a plaything caught in a web.
“My lord, if mercy exists in your heart, let it fall on him?—”
But Godfrey's plea broke off abruptly, his voice choked out as dark tendrils tightened around his throat.
Osin's cold, mocking laughter echoed through the chamber as Fenlin's limbs contorted. The sound of bones snapping and flesh tearing filled the air, a gruesome symphony of agony that sent waves of acid rising up Elara’s throat.
