It all begins when a silver dagger goes missing.
For her entire life, a human named Cora Gabris has known that lycans were searching for her, as she was born as a Ruby -- a human that, when turned into a lycan, will become much stronger than any of...
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A dark gray glow created a grim air to the caves as the black flames burned, Cora's attention focused on her blackened veins while the Seers shouted at the shadow figure.
She felt no pain, despite her body clearly going through something tremendous. An unnamed Seer moved quickly to Cora, examining her arm. Cora stared at the Seer with wide eyes, but the female lycan didn't seem pressed for concern.
Even Hilda lost her attention on Cora as she faced the shadow figure, moonlight encasing the black void of its body, it's red eyes piercing through the darkness.
Careful, measured words boomed throughout the caves as Rasha spoke, magic consuming the Seer as her blue eyes glowed amber. At the entrance, the sound of cracking stone echoed as parts of the cave shattered in front of the shadow.
The Seer next to Cora yelled a warning in Dånesh, motioning quickly with her arms for them to back away. Black fire whipped out at Cora like tendrils of unforeseen magic, as if the shadow personified itself through the flames.
Ludovic, alerted by the Seer, gripped tighter on Cora's shoulders, her feet barely able to keep up with him as she was at the mercy of his strength. They managed to barely escape the whip of black fire, a small tip of the flame grazing her skin.
Her thigh burned. The Seer followed her and said something hurriedly, to which Mina translated as she kept up. "Your thigh, Cora."
Cora reached down to her leg, her body growing stiff when she saw the flame burned through her dress. She lifted it up to see her warm skin had blackened where the flame licked, like someone smeared soot on her; the flesh around the black mark was red and inflamed.
Cora glanced up at the astonished Seer, Ludovic and Mina both watching on with unease. The blacks fires that continued to burn reflected in their eyes. Seers shouted around them, their echoes carrying through the rocky halls, a few more nearing Cora.
She looked around, terrified of every corner that she couldn't see. Would something else attack her? She hesitated to look at the entrance of the cave, afraid to see the shadow figure; she leaned closer to Ludovic as she dared a look.
The Shadow figure moved its eyes to face Cora, the red washing a chill down her spine. Then, with little warning, the shadow disappeared like smoke from a candle.
The changing of gray light to a warm orange signaled that whatever presence joined them had disappeared, and the blood in her veins returned to normal as the black disappeared Cora breathed rapidly as she looked around her body, seeking out anything else out of the ordinary. Only the black mark on her thigh remained.
Hilda neared Cora, the Seers around her taking a step back while Ludovic and Mina remained close, Ludovic's hand remaining on her shoulder. Hilda glanced at Cora's thigh and looked around frantically, focusing on Rasha.
With a burning gaze, Rasha addressed Hilda through tight lips. "What was that, witch?"
Hilda panted as she looked around, all eyes hard on her. Rasha pressed with a danger in her eyes, "Answer us, witch. That was shadow magic just now. That only comes from your kind. What have you brought with you?"
