Chapter 109 CHAPTER 109
The chanting began softly.
At first, it sounded distant, like voices carried on wind from somewhere far away. Lisa knelt at the center of the temple, her palms resting against the cool stone of the ritual circle, her head bowed as Celestine and Elder Jorah took their places around her. Nolan stood just beyond them, his voice low as he joined the prayer, while Ethan and Liam remained close, watching with quiet tension etched into every line of their faces.
The air thickened.
Lisa felt it first in her chest, a strange pulling sensation, as though something invisible had wrapped itself around her ribs and was gently but insistently tugging. Her breath hitched. The stone beneath her knees seemed to blur, its edges losing definition.
Then the world tilted.
Without warning, she was no longer fully inside herself.
She could see her body still kneeling in the circle, head bowed, hair falling forward over her shoulders. She could see Celestine’s lips moving, Jorah’s hands lifted, light beginning to coil around the pendants they held. She saw Ethan standing rigid and Liam stepping half a pace closer, his jaw tight, his hands clenched as if resisting the urge to reach for her.
But she was drifting backward.
The further the chanting went, the farther away her body became, as though an invisible current was carrying her away from herself. Panic surged in her chest. She tried to move, to speak, to call out to Liam, but she had no mouth, no voice - only awareness.
The temple faded.
The light twisted.
And then the world slammed into her feet.
She landed hard on solid ground, the scent of damp earth and wild air filling her senses instantly. The Wolf Realm.
Emerald grass stretched beneath silver skies, wind whispering through unseen forests. For half a heartbeat, relief washed through her. She knew this place. She had been here before.
But she did not have time to steady herself.
Before she could take another step, the pull returned - stronger now, relentless. The ground vanished beneath her feet, the silver sky tearing apart like mist, and Lisa was yanked away again.
This time, she landed somewhere utterly unfamiliar.
Light shimmered around her, soft and luminous, as though the air itself were woven from silver threads. Tall structures rose in graceful arcs, not built so much as grown, their surfaces glowing faintly. Beings moved through the space - tall, slender figures with hair like moonlight, others bent with age, their eyes ancient and knowing.
The Silver City.
The moment her feet touched its ground, every head turned.
They knew instantly that she did not belong.
A murmur rippled through the space as an older man approached her. His hair was white as frost, his face lined but gentle, his eyes sharp with centuries of awareness.
“How did you come to the Silver City?” he asked calmly.
Lisa’s heart pounded. “I… I don’t know,” she admitted. “I didn’t mean to be here.”
His gaze sharpened. “You are not fae.”
“No,” she said quickly. “I’m a wolf.”
The man studied her with renewed interest. “Then how did you cross into our realm?”
“There was a ritual,” Lisa said, her voice trembling. “A fae elder and a wolf priestess were chanting over me in the human realm. The magic… it must have combined.”
The elder nodded slowly. “That would explain it.”
“Explain what?” she asked desperately.
“The side effect,” he said. “When two ancient magics intertwine, they sometimes open doors they were not meant to open.”
Fear wrapped around her chest. “Can you help me go back?”
He regarded her for a long moment, then gestured gently. “Come. We will see what the records say.”
He led her through the Silver City, past quiet gathering spaces and luminous halls, toward a temple built of pale stone and glowing runes. Inside, shelves upon shelves of ancient manuscripts lined the walls. The air hummed with quiet power.
As he searched through the texts, Lisa’s fear sharpened into something darker.
“What if I’m dead?” she asked suddenly.
The elder paused and turned to her, then laughed softly. “You are very much alive.”
She swallowed. “How can you tell?”
“A dead soul is heavy,” he said gently. “Yours is not. You are tethered. Pulled.”
Relief flooded her, only to falter when the elder straightened suddenly.
“I think I may have found something,” he murmured.
Lisa stepped closer, her heart racing.
And then….
The world tore again.
She screamed as the Silver City vanished, replaced by darkness so thick it swallowed light whole. She crashed onto cold stone, the stench of decay and despair filling her lungs. Chains rattled. Groans echoed.
A dungeon.
Lisa pushed herself upright, her eyes adjusting slowly. Shapes emerged from the shadows - young boys huddled together, skin stretched thin over bone, eyes too large for their faces. They stared at her with disbelief, then hope.
“How did you get here?” one whispered.
“I don’t know,” Lisa said, her voice breaking.
“Please,” another begged. “You have to help us.”
“Help you how?” she asked, dread pooling in her stomach.
“They feed on us,” a boy said hoarsely. “They drain us. We’re dying.”
Lisa’s chest tightened painfully. “I’m the Princess of Mooncrest,” she said desperately. “If I can get back, I’ll tell my brother. I swear it.”
Footsteps echoed.
A silhouette appeared at the doorway, carrying a tray of food.
As the figure stepped closer, light revealed her face.
Lisa froze.
She had seen that face before - in portraits lining the palace halls. A younger version. A stronger version.
“Mom,” Lisa whispered, rising to her feet.
The woman looked up.
Their eyes met.
And then Lisa was ripped away.
She gasped as she slammed back into her body, air flooding her lungs. Her hands trembled as she clutched the stone beneath her, her heart racing wildly. The chanting had stopped. The temple was silent.
She stood abruptly, tears streaming down her face.
“No,” she sobbed. “You shouldn’t have brought me back.”
Ethan stepped forward in alarm. “Lisa - what are you talking about?”
“She was there,” Lisa cried. “My mother. I saw her…”
No one understood.
And that terrified her more than anything she had seen beyond the veil.