Chapter 179. Inferno

Xerina’s POV

The moonlight felt heavier than before, like it was bleeding down onto the battlefield, casting long shadows that seemed alive. The taste of copper filled the air, and the energy—the same dark energy that had unleashed Valeria’s true form— hung like a storm ready to break. The silence, so heavy a moment ago, shattered like glass.

Wolves howled into the night. The battle was far from over.

A ripple of shadows moved at the far end of the field, and then they came—rogues, dozens of them, their eyes glowing with the same unholy light that had flickered in Valeria’s before she fell. They surged forward, their bodies twisted and wild, like they were being driven by some dark force beyond reason.

Rasmus shifted fully into his monstrous wolf form, his fur jet-black, a living shadow as he charged into the fray. His growl cut through the chaos like a whip.

“Fight!” he bellowed, his voice distorted by the beast’s roar. “Don’t let them take any