The silence after Kael Draven's departure felt louder than the battle that came before. The fog pulled back slowly, as if it too feared him. Only the sound of my own heartbeat remained, hammering in my chest like a warning I couldn't decode.
Kai stood beside me, unmoving, his sword still drawn though the danger had passed. I looked at him, hoping for answers, but his jaw was clenched tight, his eyes locked on the place where Kael had vanished into the mist.
The others arrived seconds too late. Mira burst through the trees, eyes wide and breath ragged, followed by Calen and the rest. Her gaze swept over us, catching the blood on my blade and the tension in Kai's stance.
"What happened?" she demanded.
Kai didn't speak.
"They weren't just shadows," I said, voice low. "There was someone else. A vampire. Kael Draven."
Mira went still. Her lips parted slightly, as if the name itself turned the air colder. "He's here?"
"He was," I replied. "He knew my name."
Mira cursed under her breath. "Dravens don't ask for permission. They don't offer warnings. If he came to you, it's because he wants something."
I glanced at Kai. "He said... he's been waiting for me to wake."
Mira's expression turned hard. "That means the gate is closer than we thougth.
That night, the camp was quiet—too quiet. No one wanted to talk about what had happened. Not out loud. But the tension hummed between us all. I sat near the fire, staring into the flames, fingers tracing the edge of the mark on my shoulder.
It felt warmer now. Alive.
Kai approached after a while, dropping onto the log beside me. We sat in silence until I couldn't take it anymore.
"You knew him."
Kai didn't answer right away. "Everyone in the old orders knew of Kael Draven. He's not just a prince. He's a weapon."
"You called him royalty. Shadow-bound."
He nodded. "His kind don't play by our rules. They make their own. And if he's come for you, it's because he thinks you belong to him."
"Do I?" I whispered.
Kai's head snapped toward me. "No. Don't let him make you question who you are. You're not his."
"You kept this from me, why?"
His shoulders tensed. "I did it to protect you."
I pulled away from the fire. "Maybe I don't want protection anymore. Maybe I want truth."
He looked at me then, really looked at me, and I saw something break in his eyes. "The truth isn't safe."
"Neither is ignorance."
I turned and left him there, the flames flickering between us like a wall.
That night, sleep didn't come easy. I tossed and turned under the blanket until dreams dragged me under.
Fire. Blood. Screams swallowed by shadows. I saw a younger version of myself, no, not quite me—kneeling before a massive stone gate. Kael stood beside me, his hand on my shoulder, whispering something I couldn't hear.
When I woke, my mark was glowing faintly. And I remembered the name of the gate.
The Gate of Dusk.
I wrapped my arms around myself, staring into the dark. Pieces of memory were starting to break through. And Kael had known that would happen.
The next morning, Mira pulled me aside.
"There's a legend," she said quietly. "When the Gate of Dusk opens, it brings back the silenced. The forgotten. Not all should be welcomed."
"Why me?" I asked.
She hesitated. "Because you're the last one left."
Later that night, as everyone slept, I felt it.
A presence.
Not Kael.
Not wolf.
Something older. Hungrier.
I stepped outside the camp circle. At the edge of the trees, a figure stood cloaked in shadow, face hidden, but I felt their eyes on me.
And then a voice—not aloud, but in my head:
"You chose the wrong side once, little wolf. Will you do it again?"
My breath caught.
Before I could move or speak, the figure vanished.
Leaving only the wind, and a growing fear that Kael Draven might not be the greatest threat coming for me.