26

The night was heavy with silence.

Selene stood at the center of the ruined battlefield, her silver eyes fixed on the forgotten graves that stretched before her. Some had been swallowed by time, nothing more than weathered stones hidden beneath tangled roots and overgrown moss. Others had been shattered, their names erased, their existence lost to history.

But Selene could feel them.

The warriors who had come before her. The wolves who had fought and died before the gods had claimed their dominion.

Their spirits still lingered.

Waiting.

Lucian and Kael stood behind her, silent as the wind curled through the valley. They had questions, but they did not speak them aloud. Not yet.

Because even they could feel it.

Something was coming.

Selene closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. The power that had once been effortless now felt distant, faint, slipping through her grasp like a dying ember. She had lost so much already.

Her strength.

Her bond.

Alec.

But she was still here.

And she was not alone.

She sank to her knees, pressing her palms against the cold earth, whispering words older than the gods themselves.

Words of remembrance.

Words of summoning.

The wind stilled.

Lucian tensed. “Selene…”

Kael muttered a curse under his breath. “Tell me this isn’t going to end with something cursed trying to rip your soul out.”

Selene didn’t answer.

Because the ground beneath her shifted.

A breath.

A whisper.

Then—

The first shadow rose.

A figure wrapped in mist and moonlight, its form flickering between what once was and what had been lost.

Then another.

And another.

The forgotten wolves opened their eyes.

And they remembered.

Kael exhaled sharply. “Oh, shit.”

Lucian took a slow step forward, his emerald gaze fixed on the spirits before them. “It worked.”

Selene lifted her chin, feeling them, their memories, their rage.

The gods had stolen their lives.

But death had not taken their loyalty.

Selene’s voice was steady as she spoke.

“You were abandoned.”

The spirits watched her.

“You were erased.”

Their gazes burned.

“But you are not gone.”

The earth trembled.

Selene took a step forward, her silver eyes gleaming.

“You fought before.” Her voice did not waver. “Will you fight again?”

A pause.

A heartbeat.

Then—

A single spirit stepped forward, its voice echoing from beyond the veil.

“We are yours, my Queen.”

Selene exhaled.

The Forgotten Army had awakened.

And the war had only just begun.