Chapter 6: The Wolf and the Ashes

“You trust this monk?” Leia asked, eyeing the volcanic steam rising from the cliffs ahead.

“No,” Cassian said flatly. “But I owe him.”

Drakon Rift boiled below like the mouth of the world, sulfurous winds curling around obsidian rocks. A broken rope bridge swayed in the wind.

“Lovely vacation spot,” Leia muttered.

Cassian dismounted. “He’s the only one who’s studied blood-activated curses. Lucen sees patterns others miss.”

“I’m not a pattern,” Leia snapped. “I’m a ticking curse.”

He met her eyes. “That’s why we’re here.”

---

Lucen was older than expected—blind in one eye, robes stained with ash, voice rasping like cracked stone.

He sniffed the air when Leia stepped into the ritual chamber. “Ah. Wild blood. Human and wolf. You’ve been ignited.”

Leia shifted uncomfortably. “It wasn’t a choice.”

“It never is.”

Cassian stood beside her. “Can you suppress it?”