The valley didn’t erupt.
That was what unsettled everyone the most.
No cheers. No kneeling. No immediate rebellion. Just silence—thick, weighted, and watchful—as hundreds of wolves slowly came to their feet and looked at me like the rules of their world had shifted without warning.
Which they had.
The air felt different. Cleaner. As if something rotten had finally been cut away.
Ronan stayed close, not possessive, not shielding—just present. A quiet constant at my side as the Guardian’s massive form began to sink back into the earth, stone knitting seamlessly behind it.
Before it vanished completely, its voice echoed once more.
“They will test you.”
I didn’t look away from the crowd. “I expect nothing less.”
The ground sealed.
And with it, the last visible proof that the old worl
