{"She wore the moonlight like a crown, and her eyes held the wisdom of every lunar phase."}
Tor then pulled his hands back and he shifted, bones cracked, fur receded, and the massive Alpha Lycan that had stood like a storm incarnate now exhaled as a man again, bare-chested, blood-slicked, and stone-faced. I followed my shift more slowly, heavier. The Mira magic still clung to my skin, unwilling to leave completely.
We stood in the middle of the bloodstained core chamber, surrounded by scorch marks, shattered rock, and the lingering stench of corrupted magic. Rita's eyes were wide, her body coiled like a spring. Qadira had a hand on her dagger, her face pale but unreadable. Rolan looked at the wall where the blood had erupted, fists clenched and shoulders tense.
It was Ma who finally broke the silence. Her voice was not loud, but it cut through everything. "That was not a death. That was a door opening."
