Chapter 178. Blood of My Enemy

Xerina’s POV

The night stretched on, the air thick with the stench of blood and sweat. The ground beneath our feet was slick with it, a grim reminder of the price we had already paid. The battlefield, once full of life and movement, had now fallen eerily silent, except for the distant howls of wolves still locked in combat. The moon hung low in the sky, casting an eerie, pale light over the chaos, and somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled, a storm brewing on the horizon.

I pulled myself from Rasmus’s grip, my body screaming in protest. We weren’t done. Not yet.

In the distance, shadows flickered and shifted unnaturally. The remnants of Valeria’s dark energy hadn’t dissipated; they had only retreated, pooling and gathering in the darkened corners of the battlefield. I could feel it—its hunger, its malice—growing, swelling with every passing second. Something was coming.

Something worse.

Rasmus caught my arm, his eyes burning with both anger a