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I’ve got Idril in my arms, and the last thing I want is to scare her, but whatever the fuck this is, it’s not natural. Which means I need to get us the hell away from it.

I stand slowly, readjusting my hold on Idril while paying close attention to the mist. Idril shifts, blinking up at me lazily.

“What are we doing?”

Before I can answer, her limbs go rigid. I know the moment she sees it because her legs and arms tighten around me.

“Soren…” she whispers, “Where did that shadow come from?”

Her voice shakes with fear, and I don’t blame her. I have no idea what the fuck this thing is, let alone where it came from.

“It’s alright,” I reply, running a soothing hand down her spine. “It’s going to be fine.”

“What is it?”

The shadow continues to curl around my legs lazily, climbing higher inch by inch until it’s almost to my knees.

I don’t know what to do, but I know I can’t stand here. I need to move. Get Idril somewhere safe.

Where the fuck can you hide from a shadow?

I pick up my pace as I head back toward the castle, all while trying to project some semblance of calm through the Bond. The shadow keeps up, refusing to fall behind.

I’m still yards away from the side entrance when it makes its move, surging up and circling Idril’s ankles and legs, wrapping around them like a snake.

Idril screams in fear and kicks out, but the shadow is relentless. It squeezes tighter the harder she fights back. I curse, heart slamming against my ribs as adrenaline courses through my veins with nowhere to go.

My first instinct is to fight—but how?

“It’s moving, Soren! It’s moving!” A distressed whine falls from her lips, making my Alpha feral. I can feel my Beast fighting to break free beneath my skin, struggling to escape. If I thought I’d have a chance in hell at fighting this thing off in that form, I’d give in and shift.

But shifting would mean letting go of Idril, and that’s not going to happen. Besides, I don’t think claws and teeth are going to do shit against a Fatesdamned shadow.

My steps start to slow until it feels like I’m wading through mud. The shift is gradual enough to adjust my momentum so I don’t fall on my face, but quick enough to feel jarring. One second I’m sprinting, the next I’m running, then jogging, then before I know it, I’m plodding along like I’m slogging through cement, each step more difficult than the last.

I push forward until I can no longer pick up my feet. Everything from my thighs down is frozen in shadow that’s—against all odds—shifted into a solid black block of impenetrable nothingness.

I’m helpless. Trapped. Completely unable to move, let alone fight. Idril’s absolutely terrified, and I’ve never felt more powerless in my life.

Reaching out to my Pack isn’t working. There’s some kind of interference or block preventing me from connecting mind-to-mind. I’d bet my fucking title it’s got something to do with this damn mist. I shout for Kane, praying he’s close enough to hear me. If he can just get here and take her away. Somewhere safe, away from⁠—

Idril freezes in my arms, the change from trembling, terrified mess to complete stillness slices through my panic.

“NO!”

The rage-filled command sounds like it’s been ripped from her very soul. I swear to the Fates I can physically sense it hovering in the air, suspended for what feels like eternity.

Then, it detonates.

Her demand repeats over and over, folding in on itself before echoing into eternity. She slices her hand through the air, and a beam of pure, white light appears. It shoots out in a blinding arc, slicing straight through the shadow holding me in place.

The shadow releases an unnatural, high-pitched shriek of pain as it recoils. The sound is like a blade scraping over glass, but amplified. I can hear it in my bones. Feel it in my nerve endings. Like it’s coming from inside of me, or surrounding me, or above me, or fuck, everywhere at once.

What’s even more unsettling is that underneath the shrill tone, I swear I can hear a distinctly masculine echo that sounds human enough to make my stomach churn.

The shadow erupts into vapor and shoots off toward the training yard. In its new form, it’s hard to tell if it’s truly gone, or simply too small to see.

Idril collapses against my chest, shaking with exhaustion. She buries her nose in my neck, taking deep breaths as I wrap my arms around her tighter.