The silence after the storm was louder than the chaos.
Ash floated in the air like snowfall. Adriana stood at the center of the battlefield, her dress singed, hair wild, eyes dimming from gold back to brown. The wolves who had fought so fiercely now stood still, staring at her like they didn't recognize her at all.
Even Adrian.
His arms were still around her, but he looked shaken. She felt it in the way he held her, no longer protective—just stunned.
She whispered his name.
He blinked, lips parting. "That power... it wasn't just witchcraft."
Adriana pulled back slightly. "I don't know what it was."
Tobias limped over, bloodied but alive. "It was her lineage. Her mother's magic is fusing with something else. Something we don't understand yet."
Mirelle, the elder seer, joined them, her face pale. "No. It wasn't fusion. It was awakening."
Adriana's heart pounded. "Awakening what?"
Mirelle looked at her with something close to fear. "The prophecy."
The word sliced through the air like a dagger.
Adrian stiffened. "No. That prophecy was lost. It was a myth."
"Not anymore," Mirelle said softly. "The girl with fire in her soul, descended from both light and shadow. She will either bind the realms or burn them down."
Adriana felt the world tilt. She backed away from them all, her breath shallow.
"You think I'll destroy everything?"
Mirelle nodded. "If not guided carefully—yes."
Adrian stepped forward. "Then I'll guide her."
But Adriana stopped him with a hand to his chest. "You saw what I did. You were afraid."
"I was shocked. Not afraid of you."
She searched his eyes. "But what if I'm afraid of me?"
The wounds of battle became distractions as the pack carried their injured home. Adriana was taken back to the estate in silence. No one spoke of the ash that used to be Lysira. No one dared mention the way the sky had screamed.
In the privacy of their room, Adrian paced like a caged animal while Adriana sat by the fire, wrapped in one of his hoodies.
"You shouldn't blame yourself," he said finally.
"I don't."
"Then why are you so quiet?"
She turned to look at him, eyes hollow. "Because every time I close my eyes, I see her burning."
"She tried to kill you."
"I know. But I didn't try to spare her."
He crouched in front of her, hands on her knees. "You saved everyone. You don't have to apologize for surviving."
Adriana nodded but didn't smile.
Over the next few days, things shifted. The pack respected her—feared her, maybe—but they didn't question her place anymore. She was one of them now, whether by blood or battle.
But with Adrian, something had changed.
They still touched, still slept in the same bed. But the fire between them had dulled. Where once there was tenderness, now there was caution. He watched her like she might vanish, or worse—detonate.
It wasn't until the night of the full moon that everything came to a head.
The wolves gathered in the clearing. Adrian shifted first, massive and silver, a sight that usually thrilled Adriana. But tonight, it only reminded her how far she still had to go.
She sat on the edge of the rocks, feeling the magic ripple through the forest. Her skin itched. Her veins buzzed.
Suddenly, she heard a voice.
"Do you miss who you were before?"
She turned.
Elias, Adrian's brother, leaned against a tree, dressed in black, watching her with quiet intensity.
"I don't even know who I am now," she admitted.
He stepped closer. "They expect you to be both weapon and queen. But no one's asked if you even want to rule."
She hesitated. "Do you think I'll become like her? My mother?"
"I think you're already becoming someone different. And that scares Adrian."
She flinched. "He hasn't said that."
"He doesn't have to."
The words burned.
That night, when Adrian returned from the run, his chest glistening with sweat, eyes glowing from the shift, he found Adriana already in bed, facing away.
He slipped in beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist. She tensed.
"Don't shut me out," he whispered.
"I'm not. I just... don't know how to let you in anymore."
"You don't trust me?"
"I trust you. I just don't trust myself."
His grip tightened. "Then let me carry the weight with you."
Adriana turned to face him, searching for truth in his eyes. "And if I lose myself completely?"
"I'll bring you back."
A tear slid down her cheek. "Promise?"
"I swear it."
He kissed her slowly, deeply, like he was trying to remind her of who she was. Of who they were. And for a moment, the fear melted away.
But in the dark, even as their bodies tangled together and hearts beat in rhythm, a whisper lingered at the edge of Adriana's mind.
A whisper in her mother's voice.
"You'll burn them all, my darling. Whether you mean to or not."