Chapter 411 The Silver Boy

Chapter 411: Chapter 411 The Silver Boy

Kaelen’s POV

I left Talia on the ridge, and I did not want to leave her.

From the moment I left her on that ridge, I felt the bond stretching between us. It was thin and taut, like a rope pulled too tight.

I could feel her fear, her hope, and her love. I could feel her watching me.

I did not want to leave her, but I had to find Malachai. So I looked back once, and she was watching me. Her eyes were wide, and her hands were clenched at her sides.

I nodded, and she nodded back. Then I turned and ran back into the battle.

I ran forward, cutting through corrupt wolves with speed. "Die you demon!"

Blood sprayed across my face, warm and sticky. I did not wipe it away.

My body was tired, and my muscles ached, but I did not stop.

I reached for the mind link, and I found her.

"I am going for Malachai," I told her.

"No," she said. "Wait for me. Do not go alone."

"I have to," I said. "Stay back. Rest."

"Kaelen, no... I," Talia started to say, but I cut across her words.

"I will be back," I said. "I promise."

I closed the link before she could respond. I could still feel her through the bond, pulling at me, trying to reach me.

But I shut her out. I had to, so I pushed her voice from my mind.

I could still feel her fear. It was sharp and cold, like a blade pressed against my spine. But I could not let it stop me.

"I cannot afford to be distracted," I told myself. "Not now. Not when I am this close."

I had to focus. I had to find Malachai, and I had to end this.

I reached the frozen wolves, and they were statues. They did not move, and they did not breathe.

I shifted into my wolf form, and my body contorted and changed. My bones cracked and reformed, and my muscles stretched and shifted. My dark fur rippled across my skin, my teeth sharpened into points, and my eyes turned gray. My senses sharpened, and I could smell the blood and the fear and the death that surrounded me.

I tore through the frozen wolves, and I did not stop. I did not look at their faces, because I did not want to see the emptiness in their eyes.

Their bodies were cold. They felt like stone beneath my paws.

The silence was the worst part. There was no breathing, no growling, and no movement. The only sound was the crunch of my own footsteps on the dead earth. It was like walking through a graveyard.

I heard the sounds of battle around me with Jax laughing, Silas shouting, and Cain moving in silence.

I kept going.

My paws carried me forward, and my breath came in ragged gasps.

The frozen wolves did not move as I cut through them. They did not blink, and they did not breathe.

I reached the edge of the frozen wolves, and beyond them, the remaining corrupted wolves were still fighting.

I could see Jax in the distance. He was still laughing. I could see Silas and Cain, fighting back to back. They were holding the line.

I shifted back into my human form, and my body contorted and changed. My bones cracked and reformed, and my muscles stretched and shifted. I stood tall, and I drew my swords.

Then I charged into them.

I cut them down, one after another, and I aimed for their heads. They fell and did not get up.

I kept moving, and I kept fighting. I could feel my strength fading, but I pushed through it.

"Faster," my wolf growled. "We need to find him."

"I know," I said. "We will."

My arms were heavy, and my legs were burning. But I did not stop.

I looked for Malachai, and I scanned the battlefield. I looked for the tall figure, the pale skin, and the black eyes.

I did not see him.

"Where is he?" I asked my wolf.

"I do not know," my wolf replied. "But we will find him."

I fought deeper into the enemy ranks, and I cut down corrupted wolves as I pushed forward.

My wolves were with me. Jax was on my left, and Silas and Cain were on my right.

We fought together, and we moved together, because we were our own army.

We had fought together for years. We knew each other’s moves before we made them.

We had fought together so many times that we did not need words.

And then, through the chaos, I saw him.

Malachai was at the back of the army, standing on a small rise and watching the battle.

He was not fighting, he was just watching.

The cold hit me before I saw him. It wrapped around my chest and squeezed. The emptiness followed, and it was worse than the cold. It was like standing at the edge of a void.

I could feel him watching me. His eyes were like holes in the world, and they swallowed everything they touched.

I gripped my swords tighter, and I walked toward him with my wolves beside me.

The corrupted wolves stepped aside, and their black eyes followed us as we passed. They did not attack, and they did not snarl, which was unusual. They just let us through.

I did not understand why they let us through.

"It is a trap," my wolf growled.

"I do not care," I said. "I have one goal."

I stopped a few feet from Malachai, and my wolves stopped behind me.

No one moved. No one spoke. The battle raged around us, but in that moment, it was just the two of us.

I could feel my wolves behind me, ready to strike.

Malachai turned to look at me, and his black eyes were empty. His smile was cruel.

"The silver boy," he said. ℴ

I froze.