Chapter 97
The ancient voice still echoed through the chamber when the shadows at the far end of the room began to move. They did not rush forward or take shape all at once. Instead, they gathered slowly, thickening into something taller and darker until the outline of a figure stood in the distance.
Kael felt the reaction inside him immediately. The storm under his skin tightened with sharp awareness, every instinct in him rising at once. Part of him wanted to attack. Another part recognized what stood before him, and that second feeling made anger hit even harder.
Mira moved in front of him without hesitation, placing herself between Kael and the shadows.
"Do not answer it," she said.
Kael pulled once against the chains, metal biting into his wrists. "Then move."
She did not turn around. "Not this time."
The figure in the shadows remained several feet away, never fully solid. Its eyes glowed faintly through the dark, watching them with patient amusement.
