Gray’s massive dire wolf form moves ahead of us, white fur catching the faint silver glow. He still won’t shift back. Can’t or won’t—no one’s asked, and he can’t answer. Just hunts, tracks, moves forward like that’s all he has left.
Wes walks behind him, hollow-eyed and too thin. We all are, but it shows most on him—hunger etched into every line of his face. His hands shake when he thinks no one’s looking. Rhett keeps close to Wes, heat flickering under his skin like he’s trying to burn away the cold that’s eating all of us from the inside.
And Stellan—
Stellan drifts at the back, lips moving silently in the dark.
Again.
I’ve been watching him for the past hour. The whispers started faint, barely audible over the sound of our footsteps on stone that shouldn’t exist. But they’ve gotten louder. More desperate.
“Please,” I hear him murmur. “Just a little longer. I need—”
He cuts off when he notices me looking.
The silence stretches.
I’m done with silence.
“Stellan,” I say, voice flat. “You wanna tell us who the fuck you keep talking to?”
Everyone stops.
Gray’s head swings toward us, silver eyes reflecting nothing. A low growl rumbles from his chest—warning or question, I can’t tell.
Jace turns, one hand on his blade. Wes looks between me and Stellan like he’s not sure if he should intervene or run.
Thane’s gaze locks on Stellan, cold and unreadable.
“Can’t imagine it’s normal,” I continue, “having friends in the Void.”
Stellan’s expression doesn’t change. “Lonely men talk to echoes, Theo. You should know—you’ve been muttering prophecies for months.”
“That’s different.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah.” I take a step toward him. “Because my visions don’t answer back.”
“If he’s got a book club in here,” Jace says, “I want the reading list.”
No one laughs. He shuts up.
“I’m saying,” Stellan replies, voice smooth and controlled, “that when you spend enough time in the dark, your mind fills in the gaps.”
“Bullshit,” Thane says quietly.
The word instantly makes everything fucking awkward. Good.
Stellan’s jaw tightens. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Thane moves forward, deliberate and unhurried. “We’ve all been listening to you for weeks. That’s not your mind filling gaps. That’s you begging someone—or something—for help.”
“You don’t know what you’re—”
“Please tell him I need him,” Thane interrupts, voice dropping into a perfect mimic. “Your exact words—three turns of Rhett’s fire ago. I was two paces behind you; sound carries in here.”
Stellan goes still.
