CHAPTER 83: THE HEART OF SHADOWS

Chapter 83: The Heart of Shadows

Lyra descended from her camp like a queen welcoming peasants. But the woman walking toward them wasn’t human anymore.

Her skin glowed with an inner darkness, veins flowing black beneath flesh that seemed too perfect. Her hair moved without wind, and her eyes held depths that made looking at them feel like sinking.

In her hands, she held a rock the size of a human heart. It pulsed with malicious life, casting shadows that moved against the light.

"The Heart of Shadows," Marcus breathed. "She already has it." "Of course I do," Lyra’s voice echoed from everywhere at once.

"Did you really think I’d wait for you to arrive before claiming my prize?" The rock in her hands grew brighter, and pain shot through everyone’s heads.

Rowan screamed, dropping to his knees as emotions crashed over him - centuries of rage, betrayal, and hunger from every soul the artifact had eaten. "Stop!" Liana stepped forward, her own inner wolf snarling with protective rage.

"Let him go!" "Oh, little Luna," Lyra smiled, and the look was beautiful and terrible. "Always trying to save everyone. That’s what makes you so valuable." The witch raised her free hand, and shadow creatures poured from the rocks around them.

Not the mindless beasts they’d fought before, but clever horrors with burning red eyes and teeth like broken glass. "I’ll make you a deal," Lyra continued as her monsters circled them.

"Give me the girl, and I’ll let your precious pack live. Refuse, and I’ll turn every wolf in the area into my willing servants." "Never," Kael drew his sword, though his hands shook without his Alpha strength. "Such loyalty," Lyra laughed.

"Even when you know you can’t win." Jace moved to flank her, but shadow tendrils burst from the ground, wrapping around his legs. "We’ve faced worse odds."

"Have you?" The Heart of Shadows hummed brighter, and suddenly the air filled with the howls of corrupted magical beasts. A massive shadow bear emerged from behind the rocks, its fur writhing like live smoke.

Behind it came wolves with too many eyes, their mouths splitting open to show rows of needle-sharp teeth. "These were once protectors of the mountain," Lyra pointed to her army. "Now they serve a better purpose."

The battle erupted without notice. Marcus shifted into his wolf form, throwing himself at a shadow creature that looked like a twisted eagle.

His claws passed through it like mist, and it reassembled behind him, raking claws across his back. Talia threw protection spells that flared bright blue, forming barriers between them and the monsters.

But each spell took more out of her, and sweat poured down her face. "The magic here fights back!" she gasped. "It’s like the mountain itself doesn’t want us to win!" Kael and Jace fought back-to-back, their swords cutting through shadow flesh that rebuilt seconds later.

Without their supernatural speed and power, they were losing ground fast. Rowan pressed his hands to his temples, trying to use his empathic skills to confuse the creatures. "I can feel their hunger," he said through gritted teeth.

"They don’t want to kill us. They want to eat us. Add our souls to their collection." "How comforting," Celeste muttered, her silver cuffs sparking as she fought against their magic-blocking power.

That’s when Liana spotted something odd. While everyone else fought against the monsters, Celeste seemed to know exactly where each attack was coming from. She dodged with perfect time, never quite in real danger.

"You knew," Liana said, her blood turning to ice. "You knew this would happen." Celeste’s ice-blue eyes met hers, and for a moment, the mask slipped. "I knew a lot of things."

Before Liana could respond, Celeste grabbed a fallen shadow creature’s claw and used it to slice through her cuffs. Dark power flooded back into her, making her eyes glow silver. "Finally," she breathed.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to pretend to be powerless?" "Celeste, no!" Talia screamed as her friend turned traitor. But Celeste was already moving.

She threw a bolt of shadow magic that sent Lyra stumbling backward, then lunged for the Heart of Shadows. "You promised me power," Celeste growled at the witch. "But you lied. You were going to use me and throw me away, just like everyone else."

"You foolish child," Lyra raised her hand to strike, but Celeste was faster. She grabbed the Heart of Shadows, and the moment her fingers touched its surface, everything changed.

Power exploded from the crystal, washing over the hillside like a black tide. The shadow creatures froze, their red eyes turning to look at their new boss. Celeste rose into the air, the Heart beating in her chest like a second heartbeat.

Her honey-blonde hair turned white as bone, and when she smiled, her teeth gleamed like fangs. "I was tired of being second best," she said, her voice echoing with newfound power.

"Tired of watching you get everything I deserved." "Celeste, please," Liana reached out to her old rival. "This isn’t you.

The Heart is changing you." "No," Celeste’s laugh was like breaking glass. "It’s making me what I was always meant to be.

What I should have been from the beginning." She turned to Lyra, who was backing away in fear. "You taught me well, teacher.

But you forgot the most important lesson - never trust someone with nothing left to lose." A blast of dark magic hit Lyra, sending her flying into the rocks. The witch’s perfect form cracked like porcelain, showing something horrible underneath.

"The power was never yours to give," Celeste continued, floating above them all. "It belonged to whoever was strong enough to take it."

She looked down at Liana and the others, and for a moment, something human flashed in her eyes. "I’m sorry. But I won’t go back to being nobody’s second choice."

The shadow creatures turned toward them, no longer confused but now under new control. And their new boss had old grudges to settle. "Run," Marcus whispered, blood streaming from his cuts. "She’s beyond saving now." But as they prepared to run, Rowan grabbed Liana’s arm.

His empathic skills were screaming warnings. "There’s something else," he said, his face pale with fear. "The Heart isn’t just giving her power. It’s talking to something. Something that’s been sleeping in the deepest parts of the mountain."

The ground beneath them began to shake, and a roar sounded from far below - ancient, hungry, and very much awake. Celeste had gotten the power she’d always wanted.

But she’d just woken up something that made Lyra look like a harmless child. And it was coming for all of them.