Chapter 97 Welcome back, Edlyn

Chapter 97 Welcome back, Edlyn
/Edlyn/

This time, everyone felt it. The ground shook violently beneath the entire gathered army, and warriors immediately raised their weapons, scanning the darkness for a threat they couldn't see.

"Stay calm!" Nelson shouted, his voice cutting through the rising panic.

Another vibration followed, deeper than the last.

Then a low sound rolled through the forest, vibrating in my bones.

Not a roar.

Not a growl.

Something else entirely.

Something that sounded, impossibly, almost like a heartbeat.

Boom.

My chest tightened painfully.

Boom.

The same rhythm echoed inside my own body, syncing with whatever was happening beneath the earth.

Boom.

I grabbed my chest, gasping.

"Edlyn!"

Luca reached me first, his hands finding my shoulders.

"I'm okay," I managed.

I wasn't.

The sound kept building, growing louder with every pulse.

Then Moon screamed inside my head, sharp and terrified.

Get back!

I barely had time to react before the ground in front of us exploded outward.

Trees were ripped from their roots and hurled into the air. Warriors were thrown backward like they weighed nothing. The earth split open with a sound like the world tearing, revealing a massive black hole gaping beneath the forest floor.

Everyone froze.

Smoke curled up from the opening, thick and dark against the night sky.

Then came a sound that made my blood run cold.

Crying.

Children crying.

Nelson's face changed instantly, something fierce and protective overtaking every other emotion. "The Northern Pack."

We rushed forward without thinking.

"Wait!" Luca shouted, grabbing my arm.

I stopped hard, my heart pounding.

He pointed toward the opening, his voice tight with warning. "Something's moving down there."

Shadows shifted in the depths of the hole. Dozens of them. Maybe hundreds, twisting and writhing just out of sight.

Nelson turned back toward the warriors, his voice carrying across the entire assembled army. "Nobody attacks until we know what we're dealing with."

A figure slowly stepped out of the darkness below.

It was a woman, dressed in black robes that seemed to drink in what little light remained, her face hidden beneath a deep hood. She stopped several feet away from us, unhurried, as though she had all the time in the world.

Then she lifted her head.

I couldn't see her eyes clearly beneath the shadow of the hood, but somehow I knew, with absolute certainty, that she was looking directly at me.

"Edlyn."

My heart stopped cold in my chest.

Nelson stepped in front of me instantly, his body a wall between us. "Who are you?"

The woman laughed softly, the sound almost gentle, which somehow made it worse. "You still don't understand."

Luca's eyes flashed crimson, dangerous and bright. "Understand what?"

She slowly reached up and removed her hood.

My breath caught in my throat.

I knew that face. Not because I had ever met her, not in this life, not standing here on solid ground. Because I had seen her before, again and again, in my dreams.

The woman smiled, slow and knowing.

"You finally brought them together."

I stared at her, my whole body gone rigid. "Who are you?"

Her smile widened further, stretching into something that didn't quite look human. "The one who has been waiting for you."

Moon went completely silent inside my head.

Vamp didn't say a single word either.

That silence scared me more than anything either of them could have said.

Nelson tightened his grip on his sword, his knuckles whitening. "Where is the Northern Pack?"

The woman glanced behind her, almost casually. "Alive."

A wave of relief crashed through me, sharp and overwhelming.

Then she looked back at us, and something in her expression turned the relief to ash.

"For now."

Nelson stepped forward, his voice hard as stone. "What do you want?"

Her eyes settled on me again, unwavering.

"You."

Luca moved beside Nelson, positioning himself like a second wall. "You're going to have to get through both of us."

The woman laughed, low and unbothered.

"No."

She tilted her head, studying me the way someone studies something they already own.

"I don't need to get through either of you."

Her gaze returned to me, and her voice dropped into something almost gentle.

"She will come willingly."

My stomach dropped straight through the earth.

"No, I won't."

The woman only smiled wider.

"You already did."

The ground beneath us suddenly began to glow, faint at first, then brighter. A strange symbol bloomed to life beneath my feet, its lines burning with pale light.

I looked down, and my blood turned to ice.

It was the same symbol from my vision. The same one that had appeared when the voice told me to choose.

Luca grabbed my hand, his grip fierce and unyielding.

Nelson grabbed the other, just as tight.

The symbol burned brighter, climbing up around us like flame.

And the woman whispered, soft as a lullaby, terrible as a threat:

"Welcome home, Edlyn."