The sanctuary was on fire.
The flames danced through the eastern wing—first in flashes, then in waves. Cries echoed through the stone corridors as warriors scrambled to defend their home. The night that had started in silence now roared with the chaos of battle.
Lyra stood frozen for a heartbeat too long as the world she built crumbled around her.
Cassian had said, "They're here."
She hadn't wanted to believe him.
Not until she saw it for herself—dozens of armed wolves in dark armor, marked with the Council's crest, pouring through a breach in the wards. The eastern shield had fallen.
She ran.
Past screaming healers.
Past fallen sentries.
Into the heart of the sanctuary temple, where Seris was calling out orders and fending off three attackers at once.
"Lyra!" Seris shouted. "They came through the northern channel. Someone gave them the tunnel routes!"
Lyra's heart dropped. Tunnel routes? Those were sealed—only the highest-ranked members knew about them.
Which meant…
The traitor had been closer than she thought.
---
Outside the courtyard, Kael was already in the thick of it. His sword slashed through enemies with deadly precision, his wolf half awakened beneath his skin. Blood splattered across his chest, but none of it was his.
He hadn't come to prove anything.
He came to protect her.
Cassian appeared on the balcony above, bow in hand, shooting one attacker after the other. His eyes never left Lyra—not even once.
He wasn't trying to earn her forgiveness anymore.
He was trying to keep her alive.
But the rage in his chest was uncontrollable. He had known something like this was coming. He had warned her. And still—still—it felt like no one had listened.
Now their people were dying for it.
He saw Kael reach for her, pulling Lyra out of the path of a blade.
The mark on Kael's chest glowed faintly.
Cassian's grip on his bow tightened.
---
Lyra and Kael ducked into the sanctum, where a few remaining warriors were forming a defensive wall.
Kael turned to her. "This wasn't just an attack. It was an invasion. Someone fed them everything."
Lyra stared at the doors, her chest heaving. "They knew where to hit. What to destroy."
Kael gently placed his hand on her arm. "You have to use the fire. Call the Flame of the Rite."
"I'm not ready," Lyra whispered.
"Yes, you are. You were born ready for this."
She closed her eyes.
The fire from the Ritual of Flames still lived in her blood. She had kept it buried. Hidden.
But tonight, she would let it burn.
She raised her hands—and flame erupted in a wide arc, creating a wall of searing heat between her people and the invaders.
Screams rang out as enemy wolves fell back.
Kael stood by her side, guarding her as her flames swirled higher.
But even as they pushed the enemies back, Lyra couldn't shake the feeling growing in her chest—
The betrayal wasn't over.
---
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the sanctuary, Seris had cornered a rogue with the Council's mark and torn a parchment from his bag.
A map.
Another one.
But this time… it wasn't the Council's copy.
It was hers.
Her personal strategy sketch, inked in her own symbols.
Someone had stolen it from her quarters.
She ran toward the main hall, her heart pounding with each step.
As she burst through the archway, she shouted, "Lyra!"
Lyra turned, the fire still crackling around her.
Seris held out the map.
"Someone gave this to them. Someone with access to the war tent. It's not the Council's intel. It's ours."
Kael stepped forward. "Who else had access?"
Seris locked eyes with Lyra.
And Lyra's world tilted.
Cassian.
He had been acting strange. Distant. Defensive. Possessive.
She remembered his bloodied hands when he came to her room.
The scroll.
The one he handed her, sealed in dark wax.
A seed of doubt bloomed—and it was poisonous.
"No," she whispered.
But Seris didn't flinch. "He knew about the tunnels. Only you, me, and Cassian had that map. And mine was taken."
Kael's jaw clenched. "Where is he now?"
---
Cassian stood at the highest balcony of the sanctuary tower, watching the fight.
Watching Lyra.
He had fought for her.
He had killed for her.
But the prophecy had spoken. The third betrayal would wear a familiar face.
And now, that face was his.
Not because he hated her.
But because he loved her too much to let her destroy herself.
Letting Kael back in had been her greatest mistake.
Cassian had tried to warn her. Had tried to protect her from that bond. From the history that threatened to drown her.
But she hadn't listened.
So he had done the unthinkable.
He gave the Council the route into the sanctuary—not to destroy Lyra, but to scare her. To prove Kael wasn't worthy of her trust.
But now… now it had gone too far.
People were dead.
And blood was on his hands.
Cassian bowed his head.
He had never meant for it to go this far.
---
Lyra stormed through the sanctuary halls, Kael and Seris close behind.
"Where is he?" she demanded.
A scout pointed to the tower.
"He's up there. He hasn't moved since the battle started."
She sprinted for the stairs, her pulse roaring in her ears.
Every step felt heavier.
Every heartbeat echoed with the same truth:
Cassian was the traitor.
---
She found him alone on the balcony, hands on the rail, head bowed.
"Cassian," she said.
He turned slowly.
His face said everything.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Lyra's hands trembled. "Tell me it's not true."
"I thought I could scare you," he said softly. "I thought if you saw what Kael brought back into your life, you'd choose to walk away from him for good. I never meant for anyone to die."
"You opened the gates," she said, voice breaking. "You let them in."
"I gave them a route," he admitted. "Not a plan. Not a target. Just a corridor. I didn't know they'd use it like this."
Kael appeared behind her, eyes wild. "You betrayed her."
Cassian raised his hands. "I tried to protect her."
"By unleashing hell on her people?" Kael growled.
Lyra stepped between them, pain ripping through her. "Cassian, you were my anchor. You were the one I trusted most."
"I know," he said, his voice cracking. "And that's why I did it. Because I was losing you. To him."
"You never lost me," Lyra said, tears falling freely now. "You lost yourself."
A long silence passed between them.
Then Lyra whispered the final blow. "You're no longer part of this pack."
Cassian's eyes widened. "Lyra…"
"Go," she said, turning away. "Before I make you leave in chains."
---
Later that night, the sanctuary burned low.
The Council wolves had retreated, but the damage was done.
Lives were lost.
Trust was shattered.
And Lyra sat alone in the sanctum, staring into the dying fire.
Kael entered quietly.
"She'll recover," he said, referring to Seris, who had been wounded.
Lyra didn't speak.
"I know you're hurting," Kael said, kneeling beside her.
She looked at him. "How do I trust anyone again?"
He gently took her hand. "You don't have to. Not all at once. Just start with me."
She let her fingers tighten around his.
Not in forgiveness.
But in strength.
They were still standing.
And the war wasn't over.