The training chamber echoed with Eila's labored breathing.
She stood in the center of a wide circular arena built beneath the Pack House—a stone-lined sanctum that shimmered faintly with protective wards and glowing runes. On all sides, relics pulsed with quiet energy, and carved wolf totems watched with unblinking eyes. This place had once been used for training pack champions. Now, it belonged to her.
Eila wiped sweat from her brow and steadied her stance as Nina circled her slowly, a focused frown creasing her brow.
"Again," Nina commanded. "Summon the flame, Eila—not with rage. With balance."
Eila exhaled and closed her eyes. She envisioned the moment in the forest again—the icy wind, Jeremy's voice, the rising scream. The pain. The power. The scream had not come from fear, she realized now—it had come from a protective instinct so deep, it bypassed thought entirely.
"I don't want to hurt anyone by accident," she said, voice tight. "What if I lose control?"
Luna Priscilla stepped forward from the shadows, her silver eyes calm and sharp. "Then we teach you to hold the flame. But first, you must stop fearing it."
Priscilla extended her palm. Frost bloomed across her fingertips. With a flick, a wall of glimmering ice erupted before Eila, tall and thick.
"Burn it," the Luna said. "Burn it without fear."
Eila opened her hands, focusing on the center of her chest, just beneath her sternum—where the warmth pulsed and coiled. She whispered the words Nina had taught her in the old tongue:
"Ignia Luminara."
A flicker of white fire burst from her palm—soft, ethereal, and delicate like moonlight made flame. It struck the ice wall. For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the ice began to scream—a high-pitched whistle as cracks webbed through it, followed by a clean shatter.
The shards fell in perfect silence.
Nina clapped once. "Good. Again. This time, try directing the fire as a barrier."
Eila groaned but nodded. She could feel the fire awakening deeper now—no longer a wild storm, but a living force awaiting her command.
Meanwhile… in the Forgotten Vale
The air was thick with decay.
The cavern Jeremy Soren now called his sanctuary was deep within the Forbidden Mountains, where the Veil's corruption had begun to seep through the very rock. Twisting vines coated the walls, pulsating as if feeding on the blood of the earth.
Jeremy stood before a cauldron of black flame. His red hair hung limp around his pale, sunken face. The Varium were gathered around him, whispering in voices only the cursed could understand. The laughter from last night still echoed in his mind. But something troubled him.
"She screamed," he rasped, staring into the fire. "That light… it wasn't just soul-bound. It awakened a flame. Even in her dreaming state, she was powerful enough to dispel our powers."
Behind him, a robed figure stirred from the shadows—Venera, the Wraith Seer. Her empty eye sockets glowed faintly green as she hissed, "The Triad flame. We told you."
Jeremy clenched his fists. "Then it must be extinguished. Before it matures."
Venera stepped closer. "You cannot strike again until she is alone. While. She is still divided… unsure. That is our window."
Jeremy turned, his face twisted in cold fury. "I will rip her doubts apart. And when she breaks… the Veil shall open wide."
He reached into the cauldron. A shriek burst from the flames—an echo of a trapped soul, one of many he had bound.
His army was growing. And soon, even the living would kneel.
Back in the Pack HouseLater that evening, Eila collapsed on a soft bench, completely drained. Her arms ached from spellwork, and her heart still raced from the last fire barrier she'd conjured.
Leonard arrived with chilled lemon water and a quiet expression. He crouched beside her and said, "You did well today. But… I can sense something darker moving."
Eila nodded. "He's gathering strength. I felt it the moment I screamed. He was afraid. And now he'll strike harder."
From the doorway, Zois and Lukas stepped in, their presence solid and grounding. They'd been nearby all day, watching silently, letting her grow.
"We'll stand with you," Lukas said.
"No matter what he summons," Zois added