And look at you now.
It’s such a simple compliment, but it settles deep in my chest.So, what do I need to do to get us out of here?
You have to make sure The Keep isn’t going to stop us.
At first, I think she means for me to destroy the castle, but then it hits me what this place has already been showing me.
I have to make sure Malrik can’t control it, I murmur, piecing it together.I have to unmake the magic he used to create this prison.
Exactly.
I lean over and run my fingers along the wall beside me, feeling the faint vibration there, the pulse that’s been my only moderately friendly companion in this stone hell. “You’ve been asking for this with your gifts, haven’t you?” I whisper to The Keep.
The wall glows faintly, warm and gentle—an answer.
It wasn’t just Malrik watching me this whole time. It was the castle, waiting to see if I’d be more than the others trapped here. If I could become what they all needed to be set free.
A slow, fierce smile curves my lips. “Well,” I say, standing, renewed energy already sparking beneath my skin. “I guess it’s time we all got what we wanted.”
That’s my girl,Wolf says, her voice brimming with pride.Let’s show this bastard what happens when you cage the wrong creature.
The moment I stand, the air in my room changes.
It’s subtle at first—like a breath drawn in—but then the walls begin to pulse with a slow, deliberate glow. Silver light rolls across the stone, syncing to the beat of my heart. I can feel The Keep watching me, waiting, and almost begging for my next move.
Wolf is restless beneath my skin, pacing like a fractured storm.
Whenever you’re ready,she murmurs, eager and feral.
The gentleness is new. Or maybeI’mnew. Maybe everything we’ve just survived has finally stripped away the doubt between me and Wolf. Because her voice doesn’t just steady me, it grounds me.
She is me, and I am her.
Two halves finally made whole.
How I’ve gotten this far without her, I’ll never understand. But I know with a blunt, unshakeable certainty that I’m never risking our bond again.
“Let’s do this,” I whisper.
I place my palm flat against the wall.
It vibrates under my touch—warm, almostgrateful—and the magic hums like it’s answering a question I haven’t asked aloud.
“Okay, Keep,” I say softly. “I don’t know if you have actual feelings. If you do, I hope this won’t hurt you. Seriously. I’m not trying to.”
I let out a weak laugh. “God, I’m talking to a castle like it’s a person. What even is my life anymore?”
The wall heats beneath my fingers.
Well, at least I have its permission.
Energy vibrates through me, adding to my calm, and I nod, taking that as The Keep’s encouragement to proceed. “Let’s see what happens then.”
It’s likely going to be dark outside soon. I consider waiting until morning, but after that last training session with Malrik, something tells me we don’t have time to waste, so I get started, putting everything I’ve learned since arriving here to use.
My core tether extends through my body, moving outward from the center of my palm placed over the cool stone. A light blooms beneath my hand, then intensifies, swelling like a held breath and heating at the same time.
I want to pull away, to stop the growing pain, but the moment I start to enter the spell woven to create this place, I know I can’t stop.
