After the battle, Kael led her deep into the mountains. The air grew thin, the snow heavier, until they reached a cave carved into stone.
Inside waited the Seer.
An ancient wolf, her fur silver as the moon, her eyes blind but burning with knowledge. She sat among runes carved into the stone, her voice low and echoing.
"I have waited for you," she said, her sightless gaze locking on Aradia. "The witch reborn. The Alpha reborn. The promise reborn."
Aradia's chest tightened. "What promise?"
The Seer's hand lifted, trembling but sure. She touched Aradia's brow, and the world split open.
Visions flooded her:
A battlefield centuries ago, wolves howling as shadow devoured the land. Herself, cloaked in black, wielding fire that split the sky. Kael at her side, bloodied but unbroken, his wolf standing guard.
And then—their deaths. Her fire consuming them both, the shadow rising victorious. But before the end, his lips against hers, his vow whispered into her soul:
"If death takes us, if fire consumes us, I will find you again. In every life. In every world. I will always find you."
The vision shattered. Aradia gasped, collapsing, Kael catching her in his arms.
The Seer's voice echoed. "This is your fate. To fight. To burn. To find each other again and again until the shadow is broken."