The web of energy within these walls is shadowy and complex. It twists and turns, and the further I dig, the heavier my body becomes.
There’s so much darkness. It wants to drown me, to pull me under and never let me out, but this isn’t my path.
This isn’t who I am.
I close my eyes, focusing on the intentions of my heart,and I push those desires through the tether now firmly connected to the castle. Heal, not destroy.
The Keep will still be able to function when I’m done. It just won’t be controlled by dark energy any longer.
Malrik’s spell is full of jagged peaks and tumultuous lows, but I know him now, and I don’t have to enter the darkness to overcome it. I just need to unmake it.
With a deep inhale, that’s exactly what I do.
Thread by thread, I pull on the energy until what was once a glorious web of power is no more than floating magic, ready to be reborn. A job that I’ll have to trust The Keep to do on its own because we’re running out of time already.
Malrik is coming.
I sense his fury, the way his insidious magic in the distance spikes and claws toward me, but I can’t let go of the wall yet. Not until I know the castle is free to help us without the risk of Malrik interfering.
It’s another minute later, a precious sixty-seconds we don’t have to waste before the entire room feels like it exhales. A deep, resonantthrumrolls through the floor, through my bones, through the air itself. The Keep doesn’t just respond. Itsyncs.Its pulse merges with mine, overlapping and weaving together like threads in a single tapestry.
Wolf inhales sharply inside my mind.You feel that?
Damn right I do.The castle shifts.It’s done.
Let’s get the hell out of here. Wolf is already salivating to be set free, but I’m not ready yet.
I keep her held back just a bit longer to make sure we’re still on track with our escape plan. If we don’t make it outof here tonight, the last thing I need is for Malrik to realize I have her back.
A shockwave of silver erupts outward, rattling the floorboards under my feet until my bedroom door opens. Light surges down the hall, racing through The Keep like water breaking through a dam.
Somewhere deep within the castle, I hear the roar of the wrath I could already sense. Stones tremble, and cracks begin to form in the floors. A gust of icy air slams through the room as if the entire structure just took a breath for the first time in centuries.
Run, Wolf practically purrs with the thrill.
“All right, Keep.” I take a step forward, having no clue where I’m going. “I gave you freedom. Now, it’s time for you to return the favor.”
A path glows before me, but it’s not the same as Malrik’s cold white light. This is gold, warm, and leading me to freedom.
At least I hope so.
With only my training clothes on my back, I start racing through the halls. The walls move for me, like a maze come to life. I sense Malrik getting closer, his shouts growing louder, but I don’t stop. I put my full trust in this entity, hoping I haven’t read the situation wrong.
Every step forward makes my pulse quicken. The walls stretch taller. The ceilings drip with gleaming runes that twist until I think they’ll shatter, but I don’t stay in one spot long enough to watch.
The energy around me is thick, heavy, and vibrating through my skin, trying to stop me, but it’s not coming from The Keep.
Wolf pushes forward, our strengths combining.He can’t hurt us.
Oh, he can, but that doesn’t stop me from sprinting like my ass is on fire.
The hallway splits ahead—one path swallowed in shadow, the other blazing with gold. I don’t hesitate. I take the gold.
Halfway down the corridor, a deepboomechoes behind me. Malrik’s voice follows—distant but enraged, a whipcrack of fury that shakes dust from the rafters.
“You’re mine, Rowan,” he shouts. “Even if you get out now, you’ll never be free of me. I’ve made sure of that.”
I don’t know what he means, and it’s enough to send a shockwave of panic through me, slowing my progression. Am I escaping too soon?
