POV: Soraya
War didn’t announce itself with horns or thunder.
It came quietly. Like the desert before a sandstorm—still, breathless, wrong.
I felt it before anyone shouted the alarm. A pressure in the back of my skull, a tremor in the sand beneath my feet. The stream shivered, rippling through my mind like a warning whispered too late.
Then the screams hit.
I was in the training yard when the first explosion shook the northern wall. Dust rained from the stone arches. Wolves shouted as weapons clattered. Someone yelled, “Border breach! Raiders from Saren!”
My blood turned to ice.
Zarek didn’t wait for the full moon. He struck early.
Chaos erupted instantly. Warriors sprinted toward the gates. Children were dragged inside. The healers shouted instructions I couldn’t understand beneath the crashing panic.
“Inside!” someone yelled at me. “Lady Soraya, get inside!”
I didn’t move.
My feet were frozen, my bones buzzing with the energy in the air—a warning, a pulse, a sharp electric hum that sharpened my senses to painful clarity.
Then the scent hit me—iron, smoke, fury.
Blood.
A lot of blood.
“Storm girl!” Vienne burst into the yard, breath ragged. “The raid came from the north cliff—ten riders. They hit the supply caravans. Two wolves down. Three injured. We need the healers now.”
My stomach dropped. “Two dead?”
“Yes—no—” She swallowed. “They might not make it.”
Guilt rammed into me like a physical blow.
This was because of me.
Because Zarek wanted me.
Because he wanted to send a message.
Vienne grabbed my arm. “You need to go to the inner hall! Now. Before the raiders push further in.”
I shook my head. “I can help—”
“No,” she snapped. “Not like this. You just shifted two days ago. Your powers are unstable. You could hurt one of ours—”
“I won’t!”
“You don’t know that, Soraya!”
But the stream surged again—louder, harsher—drowning out Vienne’s voice.
Flashes filled my mind like shards of broken glass:
…kill the guards…
…take supplies…
…find the girl…
…Zehrael must not slip again…
I staggered.
Vienne caught me. “What did you hear?”
“Zarek’s men,” I whispered. “They’re here for me.”
Her eyes darkened. “Of course they are.”
Another blast shook the fortress, followed by a wolf’s howl that ended too abruptly.
I flinched. “Vienne, someone just—”
“I know,” she said, voice breaking. “We have to move.”
But my legs turned toward the sound, not away. Toward the screams. Toward the wolves falling. Toward the fire spreading along the outer stone.
Vienne cursed. “You stubborn sun-born—fine. But stay behind me.”
We ran.
Smoke curled through the hallways as we reached the northern battlement. The gates had been forced open, sand piled high from the explosion. Warriors clashed with raiders dressed in Saren crimson, blades flashing under the moon.
Kaide fought near the front—raw fury carved into every movement. His sword tore through a raider’s chest with practiced ease before spinning to block another.
He saw me. “Soraya?! Get back!”
A rider charged at him before I could respond.
“Behind you!” I shouted.
Kaide spun just in time, but the raider was fast—faster than he should’ve been. A gifted wolf, perhaps. Their blades clashed. Sparks flew. Metal screeched.
More wolves fell around us.
My breath hitched. This was because of me. The guilt swallowed me whole.
“This is my fault,” I whispered.
Vienne grabbed my face, forcing my eyes to hers. “No. This is Zarek’s fault. Never yours.”
But the words couldn’t reach me. Not fully. Not when another wolf screamed and crumpled to the sand, blood staining the stone.
I felt the power rising in me—sharp, wild, dangerous. Light flickered at my fingertips. The air vibrated around my body.
“Soraya—breath—stop—” Vienne hissed.
But I couldn’t.
A raider broke through the line, sprinting toward us, blade raised. Vienne reached for her dagger.
My hands moved first.
A burst of light exploded from my palm, hitting the raider square in the chest. He was thrown back like a rag doll, skidding across the sand.
I gasped. “I didn’t mean—”
“At least you hit the right one,” Vienne said, but fear trembled in her voice.
Kaide reached us, panting, covered in dust and blood. “Soraya—damn it—why are you out here?”
“I heard them,” I said breathlessly. “In my head.”
He froze.
“You heard… what?”
“They want me. The raid is meant to create chaos so someone can get close enough to take me.”
Kaide cursed under his breath. “That bastard.”
A horn blared from the ridge. The raiders began retreating toward the dunes—dragging stolen supplies and wounded wolves.
Kaide lunged forward, but Vienne grabbed him. “Let them go!”
“They killed ours!”
“We can’t chase—they want us to split the guards!”
Kaide froze with a growl.
The surviving raiders fled into the desert, fading into the dark.
Silence settled like ash.
Kaide finally looked at me—really looked.
His chest heaved with grief. “Three dead. Five wounded.” His voice cracked. “They got inside too easily. Too quickly.”
“It’s because of me,” I whispered.
His jaw clenched. “Don’t.”
I tried to speak, but my vision blurred. The bodies laid in the courtyard—the wolves who fought to protect me though none of them wanted me here.
“This wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t here,” I said, voice shaking.
Kaide grabbed my shoulders. “None of this is your fault.”
“They died because Zarek wants me—”
“They died because Zarek is a tyrant who uses people like tools,” he snapped. “You didn’t choose this.”
My voice broke. “But it keeps happening, Kaide. Everywhere I go. People die.”
His expression softened painfully. “Then let us teach you how to stop it.”
I trembled. “I don’t know how.”
“You will,” he promised. “We’ll make sure you do.”
But my gaze drifted to the bodies again. To the blood so dark it looked black. To the wolves whispering in mourning.
And the guilt wrapped itself around my throat like a noose.
Kaide saw it, but he couldn’t pull me out.
Not tonight.
Because the truth grew heavier in my chest with every heartbeat:
Zarek would keep attacking until he had me.
And Ashra would keep dying until something changed.