Riley’s POV
Alia did not wait for to even catch a breath, she grabbed my wrist and pulled along with her, moving so fast I had to match her pace without asking questions.
There was sothing in the way she held that made it clear this was serious, not just another problem we could walk into and talk through.
We moved quickly through the halls, and I could already feel sothing was wrong before we even reached Leslie’s quarters. The air itself felt tense, like sothing had already started and we were late to it.
Alia pushed the door open hard, and it slamd against the wall as we walked in.
Everyone inside turned imdiately.
My eyes moved fast across the room, taking everything in at once.
Gunnar was standing near the center, his posture tight like he was holding himself back from doing sothing reckless. Caden was close to the table, his attention shifting between Cane and whatever else was happening. Leslie stood near Cane, but her face was turned slightly away, like she couldn’t fully look at what was going on. And then there was Sumr.
And then there was a strange person covered from head to toe—Satyre?
The mont my eyes landed on it, I knew sothing was wrong in a way that went beyond anything normal. It stood there, covered completely in a heavy, layered regalia that dragged slightly at the edges.
The fabric looked thick and old, wrapped around its body like it was hiding everything underneath. Even the face was covered, buried deep under a hood so dark I couldn’t see a single feature.
But I could feel it.
That was enough.
"What are you all doing?" Alia’s voice cut through the room sharply.
The authority in her tone was imdiate and undeniable, and it forced the room into silence.
No one answered her right away.
Her gaze moved slowly across the room until it landed directly on the Satyre.
"Who brought her here?" she demanded.
"It was ."
Sumr’s voice was small compared to Alia’s, but it carried clearly.
Alia turned imdiately and walked straight to her without hesitation. She dropped down to her knees in front of her so they were at the sa level, but there was nothing soft about the look on her face.
"What gave you the right to do sothing like this?" Alia asked, her voice controlled but firm. "Do you even understand what you’ve invited into this place? You are too young to be making decisions like this."
Sumr shifted under her gaze, clearly nervous now, and I could see her hands fidgeting slightly.
"The Satyre ca to ," Sumr said, her voice quieter now. "She said she could help. She said I could see mommy again and she could heal Uncle Cane."
Alia’s expression tightened imdiately.
"And you believed her?" she asked.
Sumr nodded slowly.
"I didn’t know how she knew about Uncle Cane," she continued, "but she knew. She said she could fix everything."
Alia stared at her for a second longer, then stood up slowly.
Her attention shifted back to the Satyre, and her entire posture changed in a way that made it clear she was done talking to a child and now dealing with sothing else entirely.
"This is what you call a truce?" Alia asked, her voice cold now. "You step into Obsidian Veil and manipulate a child to do your work? Illegal acquisition of power was not part of our agreent."
For a mont, the Satyre did not respond.
Then it laughed.
The sound was low and wrong, not loud but enough to make the room tight.
"It is already too late," the Satyre said.
Its voice didn’t sound normal. It felt layered, like more than one voice was speaking at the sa ti, and it made the back of my neck rise.
Alia didn’t react to that.
"What do you an?" she asked.
The Satyre shifted slightly, the fabric around it moving just enough to remind everyone it was not sothing human.
"I have what I ca for," it said.
Everyone tensed at once.
"And what exactly is that?" Alia asked.
"The last bloodline of the Emberwyn," the Satyre replied.
The mont those words dropped, I could feel everyone one in the room tense.
Before anyone could move or react, the Satyre lifted its hand and snapped its fingers.
It happened so fast it almost didn’t make sense.
One second Sumr was standing beside the table.
The next second she was gone.
And then she was in the Satyre’s arms. Held tightly against its chest.
"Sumr!" Caden shouted imdiately, stepping forward.
Gunnar moved at the sa ti, but the mont he tried to get closer, sothing pushed him back. It wasn’t visible, but it was strong enough to stop him completely.
"Don’t," the Satyre said calmly. "Take another step and I will break her bones."
The entire room froze.
Sumr’s body went stiff in its grip, her eyes wide now, and even though she didn’t scream, the fear was clear on her face.
Gunnar’s expression changed completely.
"Let her go," he said.
His voice was low and controlled, but it was obvious he was barely holding himself back.
"No," the Satyre replied without hesitation.
Alia stepped forward slightly.
"You are making a mistake," she said."This could make your kind permanently banned in this pack"
"No," the Satyre answered. "I am correcting order."
Caden looked like he was trying to figure out how to move without making things worse, while Leslie stayed back, clearly shaken and unsure of what she could even do in this situation.
I didn’t move.
I watched.
I focused on the way the Satyre held Sumr.
"You don’t leave here with her," Alia said firmly.
The Satyre tilted its head slightly under the hood.
"I already have," it replied."Except you give her" she said pointing at .
That was when I stepped forward.
"Let her go," I said.
The Satyre turned toward slowly.
"And what will you do if I don’t?" it asked.
I didn’t answer right away.
I looked at Sumr.
That was all it took.
I raised my hand without thinking about it and I didn’t know why, it felt like sothing possessed entirely.
Sothing moved through , fast and sharp, like it had always been there and I just didn’t know how to reach it before. It rushed through my arm and settled in my palm, and before I could question it, I pushed forward.
The impact was imdiate.
The force hit the Satyre directly, and its entire body froze in place.
It didn’t move.
It didn’t react.
It just stopped.
For a second, no one understood what had just happened.
Then the cracks started.
They spread quickly across its body from the point where my power hit it, moving through the layers of fabric, through whatever was underneath, breaking it apart piece by piece.
The Satyre didn’t fight it.
It didn’t even try.
It just stood there as the cracks widened.
Then its entire form turned to stone.
And in the next second, it shattered.
It broke apart completely and collapsed into dust that scattered across the floor.
Gone.
Just like that.
Sumr dropped as the grip holding her disappeared.
I moved forward imdiately and caught her before she could hit the ground. She grabbed onto tightly, her hands gripping my clothes as she held on.
I passed her to Caden, who took her carefully, still looking stunned.
Then I turned.
And walked straight toward Gunnar.
He was staring at in a way I had never seen before, like he didn’t know what to make of what just happened.
I didn’t stop until I was standing right in front of him.
"You all will not make decisions based on my life anymore," I said.
My voice was steady, clear, and loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I own my life," I continued. "You don’t. So I chose to do whatever I please with it, you don’t put mine at risk just to save your brother without consulting for your own selfish interests!"
The room stayed completely silent.
Gunnar stepped closer towards ."And if we do?" he asked.
There was a challenge in his voice, like he was testing .
I smiled slightly.
Just enough to show him I wasn’t backing down.
"Killing would be very easy," I said.
Gunnar’s eyes narrowed.
"Is that a threat?" he asked.
"It’s a promise," I replied.
I stepped even closer, closing the space between us completely.
"I will make you run wild," I said, my voice dropping slightly but still clear. "And I will make you fucking feed off your own daughter."
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