Chapter 166 CHAPTER 166

Chapter 166 CHAPTER 166
Elara woke just as the first hint of morning broke; before the others, her body was stiff from the cold and from the weight of the night before. Talia was curled against her, warm and small, her breath steady. Elara brushed a hand through her hair, smoothing it gently. “It’s alright, it’s going to be ok,” she whispered, though she wasn’t sure if she meant it for Talia or herself.

Kaelan stirred beside them, stretching his shoulders before sitting up. His eyes found Elara’s immediately, concern flickering through them. “Did you sleep at all?”

“A little,” she said. “Enough.”

She could see it in his eyes; he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t press. Instead, he reached out and rested a hand on her back, giving her the support she had come to rely on.

One by one, the others woke. Saphira coaxed the fire back to life, warming their hands while Raven stood at the edge of the alcove, staring toward the sanctuary entrance. Her expression was thoughtful, full of a quiet empathy softening the lines of her face.

Lyra joined her. “You’re thinking about them.”

Raven looked at Lyra briefly. “They’re terrified. And they have every right to be.”

Elara gently shifted Talia, letting her sleep a little longer as she listened to Lyra and Raven.

“Do you think they’ll choose extraction, despite the risks?” Lyra asked.

Raven hesitated. “I think they’ll choose anything that isn’t death. But extraction… It’s not simple. It’s not clean. And it’s not guaranteed.”

Kaelan stood, brushing frost from his clothes. “We’ll face whatever they decide.”

Raven turned to him, her voice quiet. “And what if what they decide puts Talia at risk?”

Elara’s heart tightened. “We can’t just kill them, even though that would be the best outcome for Talia. They are innocent, just like Talia is.”

Raven nodded, though her eyes remained troubled.

By the time Talia woke, the sun had begun to rise, casting pale gold light across the snow outside the alcove. She blinked sleepily, rubbing her eyes before leaning into Elara’s side.

“Do we have to go back in?” she whispered.

Elara kissed the top of her head. “Yes. But we’ll be with you the whole time.”

Talia nodded, though her small hand tightened around Elara’s.

Together, they made their way back to the Elders. When they entered the sanctuary, it felt different. The air was colder, sharper, and the pulsing light along the walls was dimmer than the night before, flickering in uneven rhythms that made Elara’s skin prickle.

The Elders were already awake; they were standing together near the centre of the chamber, their faces were drawn, and their eyes shadowed, but there was a quiet resolve in their posture, the kind that came from a night spent confronting truths they had never wanted to face. Elara could see it in their faces; they hadn’t slept.

The silver‑haired witch stepped forward first. “You returned.”

Kaelan spoke first. “We said we would.”

The wolf Elder’s gaze drifted to Talia, then to Elara. “We have made our decision.”

Elara’s breath caught. “And?” She was nervous and felt guilty, because part of her wanted them to choose death, even though that would be a ridiculous choice. And she knew it wouldn’t happen, but it didn’t stop that niggling thought from entering her mind.

The vampire Elder spoke, his voice steady but soft. “We choose extraction; we don’t want to die.”

Talia let out a small, shaky breath of relief, but the witch Elder lifted a hand gently. “We choose it because we want to live. But we understand the risks. We understand that we may lose everything.”

Saphira stepped forward, her expression warm. “We will do everything we can to preserve your magic and your supernatural sides.”

The witch Elder offered a faint smile. “Hope is a dangerous thing, but we will hold onto it.”

Raven approached them slowly, her voice gentle. “We’ll need time to prepare. Extraction is delicate and dangerous. We cannot rush it.”

The wolf Elder nodded. “We will give you whatever time you need.”

But before anyone could speak again, the chamber shifted. It was subtle at first, a faint tremor beneath their feet, a soft hum that vibrated through the stone. Elara felt it in her bones, a low, resonant pulse that seemed to echo from somewhere deeper.

Talia stiffened, clutching Elara’s cloak. “Elara… it’s waking up.”

The silver‑haired witch’s face drained of colour. “The chamber is reacting.”

Raven turned sharply toward the archway. The symbols carved into its surface glowed faintly, pulsing in a slow, rhythmic pattern that did not match the chamber around them.

Kaelan stepped closer to Elara and Talia, his posture protective. “What’s happening?”

The vampire Elder swallowed hard. “The chamber is saturated with a kind of magic that reacts to everything, including our choices.”

The wolf Elder added, “And to the decision we have made.”

Raven’s expression darkened. “The extraction will disturb the balance. And this place is too steeped in her magic. It’s responding to everything.”

Elara felt Talia trembling violently now, her breath coming in short, panicked bursts. “It’s calling me,” she whispered. “It wants me to finish what she started.”

“No,” Elara said firmly, pulling her closer. “You’re not going anywhere or doing anything.”

The pulse from the chamber grew stronger, the glow brightening with each beat. The air thickened, humming with a strange, ancient energy that made the hair on Elara’s arms rise.

The witch Elder stepped forward, her voice urgent. “We must act quickly. If the chamber fully awakens, it will try to complete what Circe began.”

Darius stepped forward next to Kaelan. “We need a plan.”

Raven nodded. “We’ll prepare the extraction. But we cannot do it here. Not with this much of Circe’s magic in the walls.”

Kaelan looked toward the archway, his jaw tightening. “Then we move. Now.”

Raven turned. “I’ll find a place. Somewhere clean. Somewhere untouched by her. I’ll create a safe space for the ritual.”

Elara met her gaze. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Raven said. “If we stay here, the chamber will keep reacting to Talia. And it will only get worse.”

Another pulse rippled through the sanctuary, sharper this time, accompanied by a faint, distant hum that made the air vibrate.

Talia whimpered, covering her ears. “It’s too loud.”

Elara held her close, shielding her from the glow. “We’re leaving. Now.”

The Elders stepped back, fear and hope mingling in their expressions. “Go,” the silver‑haired witch urged. “Before the chamber wakes fully.”

The pulse surged again, a warning, not yet an attack, but close. Elara didn’t think twice; she gathered Talia into her arms, Kaelan and the others forming a protective circle around them as they hurried out of the sanctuary and into the cold morning air.

Behind them, the sanctuary door closed, and the hum from the mountains stopped.

Elara could finally breathe… for now.