Page 50 of A Crown of Fates

She pulls her hand away and shakes it off, as if touching me has left a taint on her skin.

“How do I sever the bond entirely?” I rasp, my body still throbbing.

Her laughter echoes through the room, sharp and mocking. “Youcan’t. So, don’t get ahead of yourself, pet. Let’s see if you can survive the shadow realm first.” She looks down her nose at me, a final dismissal, before addressing Elyn again. “Your time is drawing near.”

The elder wolf bows her head once more. “Yes, but I’m not afraid.”

The goddess’s smile is almost tender, a seemingly rare hint of affection. “Of course you’re not. You’re my creation. You mighteven be my greatest yet. Though, I’m not quite done with you.” Aurora presses her palm to Elyn’s forehead, and light blue power radiates from her skin before transferring to Elyn, flowing freely between them.

The old wolf’s wrinkles begin to smooth, and her long grey strands take on a vibrant white hue. When Elyn opens her eyes, I can still see the centuries of knowledge within them, but there’s a youthfulness about her that shouldn’t exist any longer.

“This is a gift I won’t take for granted, my goddess,” Elyn whispers reverently.

Aurora lifts Elyn’s chin with a single finger, smirking. “I know.” Then, she turns back to me, her gaze sparking with a dangerous promise. “Don’t mess this up, or I’ll end you right alongside that cockroach.”

She begins to dematerialize from my office, but before her essence has fully left, her voice sweeps through the room one last time. “I’ll be back.”

The threat in those three words is clear, but if all goes as planned, it will only be one for Orix to worry about.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

THEO

My wolf prowls within me, restless, eager to enter the shadow realm. It doesn’t matter that the world there is full of darkness. I’ve been living without light for years now. I won’t let this place take that from Estee.

She is too good for that fate.

“When I open this portal, the spell used to create the doorway should take you close to Estee, but that doesn’t mean you’ll find her easily. The souls there will be drawn to your life force. They’ll want to attach themselves to you, taking whatever they can from your essence. You’ll need to?—”

My inner beast snarls, and I face Elyn, still not used to her younger appearance. Her eyes are a deep purple now, and despite her lack of wrinkles, her age is evident by the wisdom in her harsh stare as I cut her off.

“I need to bring Estee back. Nothing more, nothing less,” I grumble. “I won’t speak or touch the shadows. I won’t go after Orix. I just need to get my mate out of that hell.”

Her lips flatten, and she shakes her head. “Interrupt me again and see what happens.”

The elder wolf pauses, but I say nothing. My frustration may be returning, but there’s at least a part of me aware that Elyn isa little too much like Aurora. After their exchange, I know I need to be more careful with both of them.

“Much better,” Elyn says. “You’ll be tested when you arrive there. The shadows will try to break you, and you can’t allow yourself to believe what you see. The visions will feel real, but the moment you actually find Estee, her warmth will be different than anything else there. Until your bond confirms that you’ve found her, don’t trust anything, or you’ll both be lost to us.”

“I won’t lose her,” I vow, my voice a growl.

There’s been too much loss in my life. Before Estee, before her light, I would’ve gladly succumbed, but not now. The drive to be more, to be better, for my mate and the future I so badly need with her, that’s what I need to focus on.

Me and her. Us. Now and always.

“When you’re ready to return,” she says, pulling a vial of glowing blue liquid from her coat pocket, “drink this. The magic will bind you to the portal, and I’ll reopen it. But only when you’re certain. I can’t send you there a second time. This is your only chance.”

“One is all I need.”

Elyn reveals a matching potion and murmurs what I assume to be some sort of activation spell for the portal. The air in front of me shimmers and distorts, the fabric of reality tearing open to reveal a gaping cavity. The portal hums with a low vibration, pulling at my very core as though it knows what I seek—and what I’m risking. My wolf growls low in my chest, both a warning and a promise.We’re ready.

Without hesitation, I step through.

The instant I cross the threshold, the temperature drops. The air here is thick and oppressive, alive in a way that feels wrong. Each breath scrapes against my lungs, the shadows already pressing close, their presence suffocating.

The ground beneath me shifts, soft and uneven, like ash that clings to my boots. Every step echoes in the silence, but it isn’t empty. The sound is wrong—distorted, layered—as though something unseen moves with me. Watching. Waiting.

This darkness isn’t an absence of light. It’s a force, sentient and malicious, its whispers piercing my ears. They weave lies and half-truths, promises and accusations, trying to find a crack in my resolve.

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