SHADOWCRAFT
Izel
Somewhere deep in the keep, far from the Queen’s Wing, a single torch burns in a locked chamber. Elder Thane stands beside the window, the torchlight slashing across his silvered hair.
“You realize what your mother’s done?” he says coldly.
Izel kneels before him, trembling. “I didn’t know she was going to do it. She never told me.”
“She used her most obvious trick—shadowcraft—and now every fool in the pack will whisper her name.” His lips curl in disdain. “We’re trapped, girl. Your mother’s impatience has cost us stealth.”
Izel’s fingers dig into the floor, eyes wide with fear. “What should I do?”
“Pray she finishes what she started,” Thane says, turning away. “Because if she fails, she will burn for real this time. And so will we.”