CHAPTER 8 - THE SONG OF THE SILVER WOLF
The world blurred into motion as the carriage thundered down the forest road, wheels jarring against roots and stones. Aiden braced one arm against the window, the other wrapped protectively around Lyria as soldiers' shouts echoed behind them.
"Faster!" he yelled to the driver.
The horses surged forward. Arrows thudded into the wooden frame, splintering the panels inches from Lyria's shoulder. Her heart pounded, wolf instincts roaring to life.
"Aiden, they'll catch us!"
"Not if we reach the lower woodlands!" Aiden said, voice taut with urgency.
More riders appeared behind them, black-and-gold banners snapping through the trees. Royal soldiers-his own father's elite-hunting her.
Lyria pressed a trembling hand to her sternum where the silver flame pulsed.
"It's me," she whispered. "They're after me."
Aiden turned, eyes fierce. "No. They're after what they fear. And they don't even understand what you are."
She swallowed hard. "Neither do I."
The Ambush
Ahead, the path narrowed into a bridge of woven vines stretching over a deep chasm. The driver hesitated.
"Your Highness-that bridge won't hold the carriage!"
"It will hold long enough," Aiden said.
But before they reached it, a thunderous roar split the air.
A wall of green fire erupted across the road.
The horses reared. The driver cursed, pulling the reins.
From the tree line, a figure stepped into view.
Tall. Cloaked in emerald and black. Power radiating like heat from her skin.
Lady Seraphina.
The vines underfoot curled upward as if bowing to her presence.
Aiden stiffened. "Seraphina-move aside."
Her eyes glowed unnaturally bright. "You force me to intervene, Aiden." Her gaze slid to Lyria, cold and sharp. "Your father demands order. And this creature threatens it."
Lyria flinched at the word. Creature.
Aiden stepped between them. "She is under my protection."
Seraphina smiled, slow and venomous. "Then your judgment can no longer be trusted."
She raised her hand.
Green magic gathered in her palm, swirling like a storm.
The soldiers behind her stilled, waiting for command.
Lyria felt the silver flame flare violently inside her in response-angry, protective, wild.
"Seraphina," Aiden warned, "do not touch her."
"Or what?" Seraphina asked, tilting her head. "You'll choose her over the throne?"
Silence.
It was an answer in itself.
Seraphina's expression hardened. "So be it."
The Silver Flame Unleashed
She hurled a bolt of emerald fire at Lyria.
Lyria reacted on instinct-her palms ignited with her silver flame, bright and blinding. The two magics collided midair.
BOOM-
A shockwave rippled outward. Soldiers flew backward. Trees bent. The very air crackled like shattering glass.
Seraphina staggered in astonishment.
Lyria stared at her glowing hands, breath trembling.
Aiden looked stunned. "Lyria... you matched her."
"No," Seraphina snapped, fury trembling through her. "She overpowered me."
Her gaze darkened into something deadly.
"You're the Silver Wolf."
The words echoed through the clearing like a verdict.
Aiden's breath caught. Lyria felt ice run through her veins.
"You know what that means?" Aiden asked, voice unsteady.
Seraphina smiled, a cruel and terrible smile. "It means she is the subject of an ancient prophecy. One the king has feared since before you were born."
She lifted her hand to the sky.
"Seize her!"
Soldiers charged.
Lyria stumbled back-but Aiden grabbed her hand.
"Run!"
They sprinted into the forest as arrows hissed past them, Seraphina's magic lighting the treetops in sickly green flames.
But Lyria felt her strength draining. The burst of silver flame had taken too much. Her legs buckled.
"Aiden..." she gasped.
He caught her before she fell. "I've got you. Keep going."
"I can't..."
"Yes, you can," he said fiercely, lifting her into his arms. "I'm not letting them take you."
Her vision blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges. She barely registered the sound of a deep, ancient howl rising through the forest-the same howl she had heard near the Enchanted Woods.
A crater wolf.
It was close.
Aiden slowed, startled by the sound.
"What was-"
Branches split behind them as the massive crater wolf stepped into their path. Its silver eyes gleamed with recognition.
"You again," Lyria whispered, feeling faint.
The wolf's mind-voice echoed inside her skull.
You blaze too brightly, Silver One. You drain faster than you grow.
Aiden positioned himself protectively, sword drawn. "Stay back!"
But the wolf bowed its head low, not as a predator-but as a guardian.
I smelled the corruption of the sorceress.
If you are to survive, you must follow me.
Aiden hesitated. "We can trust it?"
The wolf turned its glowing gaze on him.
Your path is bound to hers now, Crowned Heart. Walk or fall.
Aiden blinked. "It speaks?"
"Yes," Lyria whispered, breath shallow. "And it's right."
Voices echoed behind them-Seraphina's soldiers approaching fast.
Aiden gritted his teeth. "Lead us."
The wolf spun and darted into the shadows, Aiden running behind it with Lyria in his arms.
Branches whipped past. Footsteps thundered behind. The forest swallowed their tracks under ancient magic.
Only when they reached a deep hollow hidden beneath a curtain of roots did the crater wolf stop.
"This place is shielded," Aiden said, lowering Lyria gently to the moss. "They won't sense us?"
Not while moonlight hides you.
The wolf vanished into the dark.
Aiden turned back to Lyria, brushing hair from her face with trembling fingers.
"Rest," he whispered. "You saved us both."
Lyria's eyes fluttered shut as exhaustion pulled her under.
The last thing she felt was Aiden's hand closing around hers-
and the silver flame humming softly in answer.
As if singing to her.
As if promising:
This is only the beginning.
