She was crouched in the corner of a hidden chamber beneath the main temple. Her knees were pulled to her chest, her tiny body shaking with sobs. Her long black hair stuck to her cheeks, dirt and ash smeared over her face. The protective sigils on the walls pulsed weakly, a sign that the spell concealing her was already weakening.
Footsteps echoed above them. Shouting. Battle cries. The thud of dying wolves.
Suddenly, the chamber door slammed open.
A woman, elegant, fierce, regal even in soot-stained robes, stumbled in, bleeding from a gash across her brow.
Her golden eyes landed on the child immediately. "Ashera!" she cried.
Darius blinked. Ashera?
Rowan turned to him, confused. "Did she say... Ashera?"
Darius's heart thudded heavily in his chest. "That's the name of her wolf."
"No
