The forest swallowed her.
Raine moved swiftly, breath misting in the cold air, the blade Xavier gave her clutched tightly in her hand. The trees grew denser here—twisted things with bark like iron and leaves that whispered warnings with every step.
She could feel it watching her.
The Hollowfang.
The name wasn't just a warning—it was a curse, passed down by the Forgotten. A creature born of failed rituals and corrupted bloodlines. It hunted alphas. It feasted on spirit wolves.
And now, it hunted her.
"Prove yourself," Cael's voice echoed in her mind. "Show us you're not just fire in a pretty face."
A growl sliced through the quiet.
Raine spun the blade ready to give in her best.
Nothing.
Then—above.
It dropped from the trees like a shadow tearing through the night. She barely rolled aside in time, feeling the wind of its claws graze her arm. The creature stood twice her height, fur as black as obsidian, fangs glowing faintly blue, eyes hollow sockets burning with dark flame.
It looked at her—and grinned.
She lunged.
Steel met claw in a clash of sparks and fury. The Hollowfang was fast, but Raine was faster. The ember pulsed in her veins, guiding her, burning hotter with every strike. She slashed at its leg—missed. Rolled. Kicked off a tree trunk and brought the blade down on its back.
The Hollowfang screamed—a sound like breaking bones and thunder—and threw her across the clearing.
She hit the ground hard, her vision spinning, blood in her mouth.
Get up, she told herself. Get. Up.
The ember flared, she rose up immediately
The Hollowfang circled her now, slower, wary. It had underestimated her.
"You want power?" she whispered. "Then take it."
This time, she called the flame.
It erupted from her skin, a spiral of blue-gold fire that danced around her blade and burned in her eyes. She charged the Hollowfang head-on. No tricks. No hesitation.
The moment her blade pierced its heart, time stopped.
The creature let out a howl that shook the earth. Shadows poured from its mouth like smoke. And then—nothing.
It collapsed.
Raine stood over its body, chest heaving, fire dimming, blade dripping with dark blood.
And it died.
But more than that… she had awakened something else.
Behind her, the forest groaned. Roots pulled apart. A stone rose from the ground, ancient and marked with her mother's sigil.
A voice echoed through the trees—not hers, not the ember's, but something older.
"The key has chosen. The war begins."
Back at the Forgotten's camp, the silence was deafening as Raine returned—alone, blood-stained, and dragging the beast's severed head behind her.
Even Cael stepped back.
Maelin nodded once. "She is more than worthy."
Xavier rushed to her side, catching her as she nearly collapsed.
"You did it," he whispered.
"No," Raine rasped. "We're just getting started."