The hum beneath us surged into a violent roar, the ice walls shuddering as if struck by an unseen force. Cracks raced along their surfaces, glowing faintly with internal light, not breaking apart but threatening to.
“Stop!” Nova’s voice cut through the chaos, amplified by magic, raw and urgent. “That wasn’t her!”
My father ran to Nova’s side as Keegan had to stop him.
But the moment had already fractured.
More weapons came up. Orcs surged forward in a furious wave, their grief turning instantly into a need to eliminate the perceived threat before it could strike again.
I pushed myself up on shaking arms, scrambling toward the fallen leader despite the terror clawing at my throat.
“We can help him!” I cried. “Please!”
A massive shape loomed in front of me.
The older orc had moved with startling speed, planting himself between me and the fallen one, his weapon raised, his eyes blazing with fury and sorrow.
“Stay back,” he growled.
“I didn’t do this,” I said, the words tumbling over each other. “I swear to you…I would never—”
The ground beneath us pulsed, the Hollows’ power flaring in protest, mist surging upward around my legs as if trying to hold me in place.
And a cold satisfaction brushed the edge of my thoughts.
Not a voice.
Not words.
A presence.
She was laughing.
The realization hit me like a bucket of ice water. The Priestess hadn’t just interfered.
She’d marked me.
She’d usedmeas the conduit, knowing exactly what it would look like, knowing the damage it would do to the fragile trust I’d built.
She hadn’t attacked the orcs.
She’d attacked the moment.
I gasped, my birthmark flaring white-hot as the connection snapped into painful clarity.
“She did this,” I said hoarsely, trying to explain. “She used me. She’s trying to turn you against us.”
The older orc’s grip tightened on his weapon. His gaze flicked, just for a fraction of a second, to the faint glow still lingering in the air above me.
“Then you are dangerous,” he said. “Whether you mean to be or not.”
Keegan finally reached me, his arms wrapping around my shoulders as he dragged me backward just as another spear flew. It struck the ice at our feet and shattered, shards skidding across the ground.
“She’s baiting them,” Keegan snarled, his voice tight with fury as he pulled me behind him. “She’s forcing their hand.”
“I know,” I said, tears burning my eyes as I watched the orcs close ranks, their attention fully back on us now. “I know, and I can’t stop her.”
The vampires tightened their formation, faces grim. The shifters braced, muscles coiling as they prepared for impact, knowing restraint might no longer be an option.
