The shifters growled low, a sound that vibrated through the ice and stone beneath our feet. Caleb’s jaw was clenched so tightly I could see the tension in his neck, his gaze flicking between the orcs and me, as if weighing a hundred terrible outcomes all at once.
Another shadow fell.
An orc roared, stepping forward, weapon lifting higher.
That was it.
That was the last second before everything broke.
I dropped my shield.
The magic fell away from me like a breath released, the shimmering barrier dissolving into nothingness. Cold rushed in to fill the space it had occupied, sharp and biting, and the world seemed to gasp in response.
“Maeve!” Keegan shouted, grabbing for me.
“No,” I said, stepping out of his reach.
I moved forward and snapped my fingers as Nova, Bella, and Ardetia ran to the injured orcs, putting themselves in more danger than I ever knew possible.
I stepped forward again as Keegan told me to stop, and I motioned for him to stay behind.
The growls in front of me spiked in alarm.
And a shifter behind me, cursed.
I heard Twobble yell my name, his voice cracking in a way that made my chest ache. The vampires shifted, a ripple of instinct screaming to intervene. Caleb took a half step forward, then stopped, frozen between loyalty and shock.
The orcs noticed immediately, and weapons wavered.
They weren’t lowered, but were hesitating.
I took another step as Bella, Nova, and Ardetia reached the injured orcs.
The ground trembled beneath my boots, the Hollows still restless, still half-risen around us. Jagged walls of ice stood frozen mid-ascent, as if the land itself had paused to see what I would do next.
My birthmark burned, a steady, insistent heat against my skin, but I didn’t flinch from it this time. I welcomed it andlet it anchor me because who was laughing now? The orcs had stopped moving.
I reached inward, not for power or force, but for the Maple Ward.
Connection.
Truth.
Vulnerability.
The magic answered softly, not as a surge but as a warmth that spread through my chest and down my arms, settling into my palms like an offering rather than a weapon. It didn’t glow brightly. It didn’t crackle or spark.
It simplywas.
I stopped several paces ahead of my group, close enough now that I could see the scars on the orcs’ skin, the wear in their armor, the exhaustion etched into their faces beneath the fury and the hunger behind their gazes.
I raised my empty hands.
“I know what this looks like,” I said.
My voice wasn’t loud, and I didn’t shout.
I didn’t push magic into it, but Nova did.
