35

The air was heavy with silence.

Not the silence of grief, nor the silence of war, but something else—something that had never existed before.

The silence of a world without gods.

Selene stood on the balcony of the ruined citadel, overlooking the vast valley below. Once, it had been the stronghold of the gods—a place where celestial power had loomed over mortals like an unshakable weight.

Now, it was nothing but stone and memory.

Lucian stood beside her, quiet and still. Alec leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his golden eyes unreadable.

It had been weeks since the final battle.

Since the last god had fallen.

Since Kael had sacrificed himself.

And the world had not yet decided what it was meant to become.

Selene exhaled, her fingers curling around the balcony’s edge. “They’re waiting for an answer.”

Alec tilted his head. “Who?”

She turned, silver eyes unreadable. “Everyone.”

Lucian’s voice was calm but firm. “The packs. The wolves. The humans. Every being that spent centuries living under the gods’ rule.” He exhaled slowly. “They don’t know what happens now.”

Neither did she.

For all the battles they had fought, all the sacrifices they had made, Selene had never once considered what came after.

Because before, there had always been something to fight.

Now there was only this.

A world without order.

Without fate.

Without the divine hands that had once shaped its every moment.

Alec pushed off the wall. “So what are we thinking?” His voice was casual, but Selene heard the weight behind it.

Lucian’s emerald gaze flickered toward her. “They need someone to lead.”

Selene turned back to the valley, watching as the first hints of dawn crept over the mountains. “They need more than that.”

Alec exhaled sharply. “Selene—”

She closed her eyes. “The world still needs balance.”

Lucian was silent for a long moment. Then, carefully, he said, “You’re not suggesting what I think you are.”

Selene was.

Because for all her defiance, for all the ways she had rejected the gods’ rule, she could not deny one simple truth.

The world could not exist without something greater than itself.

The gods had ruled with cruelty.

But if she didn’t rise to take their place—

Something worse would.

Alec’s jaw tightened. “You’re saying we replace them.”

Selene turned to them, her silver eyes burning.

“No,” she said softly. “I’m saying we build something new.”

Lucian studied her for a long time. Then, finally, he said, “And what does that look like?”

Selene exhaled.

That was the question, wasn’t it?

For centuries, the gods had ruled from above, untouchable, unyielding. They had dictated the fates of all who lived beneath them.

That was not the way forward.

She would not become what she had destroyed.

She lifted her chin. “A world where power does not mean control.”

Alec arched a brow. “Ambitious.”

Selene didn’t waver. “Necessary.”

Lucian nodded, slow and deliberate. “Then we start now.”

Selene inhaled, her pulse steadying.

Because for the first time in her life, she was not fighting for survival.

She was fighting to build something better.

A new divine order.

Not born of gods.

But of choice.

Of freedom.

And maybe—just maybe—

Of hope.