MALACHAI'S POV.
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The cold bit through the mountains with merciless teeth.
Mist drifted across the black pines surrounding the valley below, swallowing the edges of the world in pale grey. Before me stood the remnants of nations that had once ruled these lands long before mankind learned how to forge iron or raise stone walls.
Vampires in dark armour stood with unnatural stillness, crimson eyes gleaming beneath hoods and silver clasps. Witches gathered beside them in layered robes stained with ash and herbs, fingers twitching with restrained magic. Behind them stood the wolves.
Fifty, perhaps a few more.
Far too few.
The last of a dying race.
Their silence was different from that of the vampires. The vampires waited like predators scenting blood. The wolves stood like soldiers marching toward an execution they already understood.
And Chloe stood amongst them all.
