Chapter 2: The Blood Price

The classroom erupted into chaos.

Zane Voidcrest stood frozen, the Primal wolf's star-flecked fur brushing against his arm like a living storm. Its voice still reverberated in his skull—*"…our key."* He didn't know what that meant. He didn't *want* to know. All he knew was the terror on Headmaster Voss's face and the way Darian Ashgrave's flames had snuffed out like a candle in a hurricane.

"Seize him!" Voss barked, scrambling backward as two Elite enforcers burst through the door. Their armor glinted, emblazoned with the Golden Dragon sigil. "The Voidcrest boy is corrupted!"

The wolf snarled, shadows pooling around its claws. *"Pathetic,"* it growled, though only Zane could hear it. *"These insects dare call* us *corrupted?"*

Zane's heartbeat thundered. "Stop—I didn't ask for this!"

But the wolf lunged.

One enforcer swung a blade of pure light—a Sunsteel saber, the Elite's signature weapon. The wolf dissolved into smoke, reforming behind the man. Its jaws closed around his shoulder, and the enforcer screamed as his armor *melted*, flesh sizzling like fat on a fire.

"Zane, *run!*" Thalia yanked his arm, her thorn shield deflecting a stray bolt of ice from a panicked student. The wildflower behind her ear glowed faintly, its petals now edged in black veins.

They stumbled into the sulfur-stained streets of Grimhollow. The mines loomed ahead, their yawning shafts the only escape Zane had ever known. But the wolf followed, its laughter echoing. *"You cannot outrun your fate, Voidcrest."*

---

### **The Mayor's Offer**

They hid in the hollow of a collapsed slag heap, the wolf prowling restlessly outside. Thalia pressed her cloth charm—her brother's relic—to her chest. "Zane… this thing you've bonded with… it's one of the *Primals*. The beasts the Elite wiped out centuries ago. They're forbidden. *Unnatural.*"

"You think I wanted this?" Zane snapped, his hands trembling. "I didn't ask for a monster!"

The wolf's head snapped toward him, starry eyes narrowing. *"Monster?"* It bared teeth that shimmered like black diamonds. *"We are the First Shadows. The Elite slaughtered our kin, erased our history… and now, they fear us. As they should."*

Thalia's charm suddenly flared, emitting a pulse of violet light. The wolf recoiled.

"Wait." Thalia frowned. "My brother found this cloth in the mines before he died. He said it… *called* to him."

The wolf stilled. *"A Voidweave shroud. Stolen from our tombs."* Its voice dropped to a whisper. *"Your brother heard the Primals. And the Elite silenced him for it."*

Before Zane could respond, a voice cut through the darkness.

"Quite the pet you've got, Voidcrest."

Darian Ashgrave stepped into the dim light, flanked by six enforcers. His phoenix-fire halo burned brighter than before, but his smirk wavered as the wolf growled. Behind him stood a man in obsidian robes—Mayor Cyrus Ashgrave, Darian's father, his face a mask of cold calculation.

"My son tells me you've bonded a Primal," the Mayor said, his voice smooth as poisoned wine. "A fascinating… *mistake.* Hand it over, and I'll spare your town. Refuse…" He nodded to an enforcer, who hurled a firebrand at the nearest mine shaft.

Flames erupted.

*Grimhollow's coal reserves.*

If they ignited, the entire town would explode.

---

### **The Pact**

The wolf's void-fur bristled. *"Kill them. Let me feast."*

Zane's throat tightened. "And let everyone die? My mother's in that town!"

*"Weakness,"* the wolf hissed. *"The Primals do not kneel to human sentiment."*

Thalia gripped Zane's arm. "Don't trust the Mayor. He'll slaughter you either way."

Zane met the Mayor's gaze. "How do I know you'll keep your word?"

The Mayor smiled. "You don't. But here's the truth, boy—the Elite will hunt you to the ends of the earth for that beast. You'll die alone, screaming. Or…" He extended a hand. "Give it to me, and I'll make you a shadow in my court. Wealth. Power. A *name.*"

Darian stiffened. "Father, you can't—"

"Silence." The Mayor's eyes never left Zane's. "Choose."

The wolf's voice slithered into Zane's mind. *"Strike now. Tear out his throat. I will devour his soul, and you will be free."*

But Zane saw the fire creeping closer to the mine. Saw Thalia's grip on her brother's relic, her knuckles white.

"Zane," Thalia whispered. "Whatever you choose… I'm with you."

He closed his eyes.

"No deals," Zane said.

The wolf howled—a sound