The attack came before midnight.

Silas led Harper, Axel, Alistair, and the ten Blackwood guards along a narrow route beneath a collapsed stone watchtower. The passage had once been part of an old military road, but centuries of decay had reduced it to a trench betwee

The dead forest became colder as they approached the castle.

No snow fell beneath its black branches. The ground remained bare and cracked, poisoned by ancient magic left from the Great Cleansing.

Silver wolves had once ruled here.

Harper felt traces of t

For several seconds, Harper could not move.

Evelyn stood beside the collapsing extraction apparatus with her pale hair loose around her shoulders. Dark veins crossed one side of her face, glowing purple beneath the skin.

She looked older than the woman who had