The fire had died completely now, and the light of dawn began to seep through the cracks in the wall. The hut was still, but there was no rest left in me.

  Will was still holding my hand as I tried to steady my breathing. The warmth of his skin was the only thing that felt real right now.

  "She was there," I said. "Not like a shadow. Not like an enemy. She looked... radiant. Almost holy."

  Will was quiet for a moment. "But it wasn't real, was it?"

  I shook my head. "No. She said I carried something. That I had a power. That she could help me understand. But when she reached out her hand... there was something about her fingers. Too long. Shadowy. And the ground sank beneath where she stood."

  He nodded, serious. "She's trying to trick you. She thinks you don't know who she is."

  "She thinks we still believe she's dead," I whispered. "That we're following her like some guiding light. That's why she appears that way – beautiful, kind, almost like a goddess."

  Will leaned closer. "But you saw through it."

  I nodded. "Thanks to Vaelmark. The words he spoke to me that time, through Sac... they're still with me. 'You carry the future in your hands.' And: 'You must choose your own path, not theirs.'"

  Will looked at me for a long time. "You're the link between us and the truth, Tracy. She's reaching for you because she knows you're dangerous."

  I swallowed. "Then it's time we tell them. Niva and Rex need to know."

  Will understood immediately. We went to Niva first. She was curled up under a blanket in the corner but woke instantly when I touched her shoulder. Rex was lying by the wall, and Will woke him with a light touch to his shoulder. They both sat up with tired eyes, but something in our demeanor made them alert right away.

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  "What is it?" Rex asked, still with a sleepy voice but watchful eyes.

  I crouched in front of them. "It's about Sacra," I began. "And about the darkness."

  Niva glanced quickly at Will, then back at me. "What happened?"

  I hesitated for a moment. But then I told them everything. About the dream. About how Sacra had appeared to me – beautiful, radiant, almost otherworldly. How she had tried to lead me into the light. And how something about her felt wrong.

  "There was something in her movements," I said. "In the shadows. She's trying to deceive us. Make us believe she's on our side."

  "But she's not," Will added. "And Vaelmark warned Tracy before. He said the curse was a wall of protection. Not something to break. And that Sacra isn't dead."

  Silence.

  Rex looked like he was trying to process something that didn't quite fit in his mind.

  "You're saying Sacra is alive?" he said finally.

  I nodded. "And that she's the source of what we're fighting against. Vaelmark said she's hiding in the dark. That all of this... comes from her."

  "And there's more," I added, my voice regaining strength. "It wasn't just a dream. Vaelmark... he spoke through Sac. When he was unconscious."

  Niva's eyes widened. "Through Sac? You mean... he possessed him?"

  "Yes," I said. "It was that night when everything changed. He looked at me with eyes that weren't Sac's. The voice was his, but the words... they were something else. Vaelmark used him to reach me."

  Will nodded. "He told her about the curse. That it was never meant to be broken, only held together. That what we call a curse was actually a protection – against something far greater."

  Niva stared at the ground, as if something was finally falling into place within her.

  "That explains the dreams," she murmured. "What started coming to me after the winter solstice. Voices I didn't recognize, whispers about light and guilt and choice."

  I met her gaze. "Vaelmark also said I have to choose my own path – not the pack's, not the darkness'. Mine."

  The silence that followed was heavy – but not with disbelief. With realization.

  At last, Rex said in a low voice, "If that really was Vaelmark... then this is bigger than we ever imagined."

  Will stood. "That's why we need to act now. We know where the children and Amelia are. We need to get there before the darkness turns them into part of itself."

  Niva stood too. The usual hesitation in her eyes was gone. "Then let's make a plan. We have to move fast."