The air reeked of smoke and blood.
Sienna's lungs burned with every breath as she pushed forward, her feet pounding against the cracked stone floor. The stronghold trembled around her, walls crumbling, the air thick with dust. The explosion had left a jagged wound in the structure, sending shattered beams and stone cascading from above. But she didn't stop.
Couldn't stop.
Aldric was in there.
The thought pushed her harder, her pulse a frantic drum in her ears. Behind her, Kael's voice cut through the chaos. "Sienna, wait!"
She ignored him.
Another explosion rocked the corridor, forcing her to throw herself against the wall as debris crashed down where she had just been standing. She coughed against the smoke, eyes stinging, but forced herself forward.
"Aldric!" Her voice was hoarse, barely audible over the groan of the breaking structure.
No response.
Her heart slammed against her ribs. He had stayed behind to buy them time—stupid, reckless, brave Aldric. If he was dead…
No. She wouldn't think like that.
A sharp pain lanced through her side, but she didn't slow. Her muscles screamed, exhaustion nipping at the edges of her awareness, but she pushed it down, focusing on the path ahead.
Then she saw him.
Aldric lay against the far wall, partially buried beneath fallen rubble. His usually composed face was smeared with blood and dust, his breathing shallow. One arm was bent at an unnatural angle, his fingers twitching slightly as if struggling to move.
Sienna's stomach twisted. "Aldric!"
She skidded to a stop, dropping to her knees beside him. Her hands trembled as she pressed them against his chest, feeling the weak rise and fall beneath her fingertips. He was alive. Barely.
Relief slammed into her, but it was short-lived.
A low growl echoed from the shadows.
Sienna's blood ran cold.
She turned slowly, her breath catching in her throat.
The creature was back.
But it wasn't alone.
Figures emerged from the darkness, their forms twisted and unnatural. They moved like shadows, their bodies flickering in and out of focus, half-formed, as if caught between worlds.
Kael cursed behind her. She heard the scrape of his blade leaving its sheath. "Hollows."
Sienna had heard the stories. These weren't ordinary wolves—these were lost souls, beings trapped in a state of limbo, neither fully human nor fully beast. Puppets of something far worse.
One of them stepped forward, its hollow eyes locking onto her. Its face was wrong, stretched and warped, its mouth filled with jagged teeth that didn't belong in a human jaw.
"She's waking," it rasped, its voice like dead leaves scraping against stone. "We can feel it."
Sienna's stomach twisted. "Who?"
The creature tilted its head, its expression unreadable. "You already know."
Something dark slithered through her veins, curling around her ribs like an unseen force tightening its grip.
She shook it off.
This wasn't the time for riddles.
Kael moved beside her, his muscles coiled, ready to strike. "We can't take them all."
She knew he was right. Aldric was barely conscious, and they were outnumbered. Even with Kael's skill, they wouldn't last long against creatures like these.
Her mind raced, searching for an escape, for anything—but the hollows weren't moving.
They were watching.
Waiting.
A pulse of energy rippled through the air, sending a sharp chill down her spine. The hollows stiffened, their bodies jerking unnaturally as if responding to something unseen.
Then, one by one, they collapsed.
Their limbs contorted, their hollow eyes turning glassy. Some twitched violently before going completely still.
And then, silence.
Sienna's breath came in sharp, uneven gasps. Her pulse roared in her ears, but she forced herself to stay still, waiting, listening. The air around them crackled, charged with something she didn't understand.
"What the hell just happened?" Kael's voice was low, cautious.
She turned to him, but his gaze wasn't on the fallen hollows.
It was on her.
On her hands.
Sienna followed his stare, her stomach twisting at what she saw.
Her fingers glowed.
A faint ember-like light pulsed beneath her skin, flickering like a heartbeat. It wasn't fire, not exactly, but it felt just as alive, coiling beneath the surface, burning without pain.
Kael exhaled sharply. "Sienna… what did you do?"
She didn't know.
Her chest heaved as she flexed her fingers, watching the strange energy pulse through her veins. It felt ancient, raw, like something that had always been there, waiting.
The air shifted again.
A deep, guttural snarl rumbled from the far end of the corridor.
Sienna's head snapped up just as another figure emerged from the shadows—taller than the others, its presence heavier. It wasn't just another hollow.
This one was different.
Stronger.
Its hollow eyes burned with something terrifying—recognition.
"You," it rasped. "You are not meant to be."
A chill ran down Sienna's spine. The words weren't a threat. They were a statement, absolute, final.
And they were meant for her.
The creature didn't attack. It didn't lunge. It simply stood there, watching her, waiting.
Then, it smiled.
A twisted, unnatural expression that sent ice through her veins.
Sienna's hands clenched into fists. The glow beneath her skin pulsed harder, matching the furious rhythm of her heart. Whatever had awakened inside her, whatever had caused the hollows to fall—this creature recognized it.
Kael took a step closer, his body angled protectively in front of her. "We need to leave. Now."
Sienna hesitated.
The creature's smile widened.
"We will meet again, little fire," it murmured, its voice almost… pleased. "And next time, you won't be able to run."
Then, it stepped backward, fading into the darkness like it had never been there at all.
The moment it was gone, Sienna's knees buckled.
Kael caught her before she hit the ground. "Whoa—Sienna—"
"I'm fine," she gasped, even though her entire body trembled.
She wasn't fine.
Something inside her had changed.
And the worst part?
She didn't know if it was for better or worse.
Kael studied her for a long moment before nodding. "We need to get out of here before more of them show up."
Sienna nodded weakly, forcing herself to move. Together, they hoisted Aldric up between them, his weight heavy but manageable.
As they stepped over the fallen hollows, Sienna felt the last remnants of warmth fade from her fingers, the ember-like glow dimming into nothing.
But she knew it wasn't gone.
It was waiting.
And so was whatever had just recognized her.