Mireya did not run, nor did she lower her weapon. Shadow
Uhrin did not move either. For a moment, there was only
silence between them, thick with unspoken words.
"You've been snooping," Shadow Uhrin said finally. "It's not
wise." Mireya's pulse thrummed. "You didn't fight back. You wanted
this."
"I did." There was no remorse in her voice, only certainty. "And
if you're smart, you'll stop looking."
Mireya took a step closer. "What are you planning?"
Shadow Uhrin tilted her head. "You're wasting your time. Walk
away, Mireya. This is your only warning."
The shadows around her pulsed, the air growing heavy. And
then, just as suddenly as she had appeared, Shadow Uhrin
was gone, dissolving into the darkness.
Mireya exhaled slowly. She had her answer—Uhrin had
chosen the shadows. But she didn't yet know why. And until
she did, she couldn't stop.
Even if it meant she was now their target.
It started small. A whisper in the night. A shadow too dark
where there should have been none. Mireya ignored it at first,
but as the days passed, the signs became impossible to
overlook. Objects in her home moved when she wasn't
looking. Her candles refused to stay lit. The temperature in her
room dropped with no explanation.
Then came the first real attack.
Mireya was walking through the forest when the shadows
lunged. They moved unnaturally fast, twisting toward her with
lethal precision. She barely had time to react, dodging to the
side as tendrils of darkness slashed at her. She raised her
hands, calling on the magic she had spent years suppressing.
A pulse of energy exploded from her palms, burning away the
shadows. The force of it sent her stumbling, her breath
ragged. She had only used a fraction of her power, but it was
enough to drive them back.
A warning.
She clenched her fists. Uhrin wanted her to stop. To turn away.
But Mireya was no coward.
She would find out what Uhrin was planning. And she would
stop it—no matter the cost