Chapter 236
*Jiselle*
“Something’s wrong with her.”
I heard Ethan’s voice before I felt the truth. My knees buckled on the scorched stone, the air clawing at my throat, every muscle in my body trembling as if my skin itself had turned into glass.
The battlefield spun, not with noise, not with fire, but with silence so sharp it nearly split me apart.
The Hollow–born had fallen back for the first time in hours. Their charred bodies smoldered at the edge of the leyline city, yet their shadows lingered, stretching across the field like they were waiting, like they knew something was about to happen that was worse than war.
And it was happening inside me.
I gasped, clutching my chest. The flame that had always burned beneath my skin surged violently, not in rhythm, not in any way that belonged to me.
My ribs strained as if the heat inside wanted out. My veins lit with violet fire, crawling up my arms and neck, and I heard Nate shout my name, but it was already too late.
Because the Gate was opening.
And it was opening in me.
I screamed.
Not a human sound. Not even a wolf’s howl. But something between, torn raw from my chest as the mark along my spine seared hotter than molten metal.
My vision fractured. One moment I saw Nate’s face, pale and stricken, reaching for me. The next, I saw worlds splitting apart–fire on one side, shadow on the other, rivers of memory running like blood between them.
“Jiselle!” Nate’s arms were around me, dragging me back, but he felt far away, like his voice had to cross centuries to reach me.
The spiral. The Gate. The Hollow–born. They weren’t outside anymore. They were pouring through me, using my body as a bridge. The flame wasn’t just mine–it was theirs, every lost Sovereign, every chain of bloodshed, every memory buried in ash clawing for release.
I fell against Nate’s chest, choking on the heat, my fingernails digging into his shirt. “It’s inside me,” I gasped. “I can’t–Nate, I can’t hold it-”
“You don’t have to.” His grip was fierce, desperate, but his voice cracked. “I’ll take it, Jis, I’ll take whatever it is
“You can’t.” Tears burned down my cheeks, my skin blistering where the flame broke through. “It’s the Gate.
It’s me.”
9:28 Thu, Oct 2
Chapter 236
He shook his head violently. “No. You are not it. You are you. You’re mine.”
But the words didn’t stop the fire.
I split me open.
45 uchert
The ground beneath us trembled as if echoing my collapse. The coalition wolves on the walls shouted in panic, their voices swallowed by the low, guttural hum that rose from my body. The sound wasn’t mine. It was older. It was the Gate itself, singing through my bones.
Eva dropped to her knees beside us, her pendant blazing so bright it cracked. “She’s tearing! The line is in her body now–it’s using her as the vessel!”
Bastain’s voice carried over the chaos, grim and certain. “If the Gate anchors in her flesh, the world will split from within. She cannot survive it.”
“Then what do we do?” Ethan demanded, his face twisted with helpless rage. “Tell me what to do!”
Before Bastain could answer, another voice cut through.
It was small, and frail, but it was clear.
“Let me carry it now.”
Solara.
She stood in front of me, barefoot on the broken stone, her ash–grey cloak trailing in the dirt. She wasn’t afraid. Her eyes burned brighter than any Hollow flame, violet edged with gold, as she lifted her small hand and placed it over my chest.
The moment her palm met my skin, the fire stilled.
It wasn’t gone it was quiet.
I stared down at her, trembling, my voice breaking. “No–Solara, it will tear you apart.”
Her gaze never wavered. “It is already me.”
The world narrowed. The screams of wolves, the roar of the Hollow–born, even the frantic shouts of Nate and Ethan–all of it faded until there was only her hand on my chest, her warmth seeping into the fracture that had nearly undone me.
The Gate pulsed once more inside me, demanding, burning, splitting.
And Solara answered.
With memory.
Light erupted, not violet, not flame, but gold. Images flashed across my mind, not my memories but hers—
memories she should not have.
9:28 Thu, Oct 2
Chapter 236
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Serina kneeling before the first Gate, the first fracture splitting through her ribs. Acdric turning away, hollow- eyed and furious, swearing vengeance. Wolves bowing in chains of blood, Sovereigns crowned in fire, every
choice etched in ash.
And then… me.
Holding her. Naming her. Choosing not to let ruin be the last story told.
Her voice threaded through the images, not childlike anymore, but vast and layered. “You broke the cycle. Let me carry what remains.”
Tears blurred my sight as I shook my head weakly. “No. You’re a child. You’re mine. You shouldn’t have to-”
“Mother.” Her voice sharpened, soft and unyielding. “If not me, then who?”
My heart shattered.
Nate’s arms tightened around me, his voice raw. “Don’t let her do this, Jiselle. Don’t you dare let her take this burden.”
But I already knew the truth.
She had been born for it.
Not to be the Gate.
But to end it.
Her fingers pressed harder against my chest. The searing pain dulled. My breaths came easier. And for the first time since the Gate had opened inside me, I felt whole.
Because she was carrying it.
Around us, the Hollow–born screamed, shadows writhing at the edge of the barrier. The coalition wolves held their lines, but even they could feel the shift. The fire in the sky bent inward, not outward, pulled toward Solara’s small form as if she were the center of the world.
Bastain staggered forward, his face pale with awe and fear. “She’s anchoring it. Gods help us–she’s anchoring the Gate to herself.”
Eva’s pendant shattered in her hands, fragments scattering across the stone. She fell back, tears streaking her face. “The child is the Sovereign now.”
But Solara shook her head, her eyes glowing brighter still. “No. I am not Sovereign. I am memory. I am the end of it.”
Her words split the air like thunder. The leyline beneath us pulsed violently, golden cracks spiderwebbing across the floor. The Gate inside me dimmed, its pull weakening until it was no longer mine to bear.
I collapsed forward into Nate’s arms, trembling and spent, while Solara stood between us and the world.
9:28 Thu, Oct 2
Chapter 236
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The Hollow–born army howled louder, sensing the shift. Their voices rose in broken unity, a sound that scraped bone and ripped sky, and the air itself fractured with the force of it.
And then the Gate burst open. It opened in her.
Light exploded from Solara’s body, searing through the battlefield. Wolves shielded their eyes, Alphas stumbled back, even the Hollow–born recoiled. It wasn’t flame. It wasn’t shadow. It was both, fused and remade, spilling outward in waves of heat and memory.
Solara’s small frame stood unbroken in the center of it, her hair whipping in the wind, her eyes glowing so bright it hurt to look at her. She lifted both hands now, palms outward, as though she could push back the entire world.
And maybe she could.
The Hollow–born shrieked, their forms unraveling in the firestorm. Shadows fled back into the canyon, some dissolving into ash, others sinking into the cracks of the earth. The coalition wolves howled as one, their voices fierce and unbroken for the first time in centuries.
But for me, for Nate, for Ethan, the sight was agony.
Because the Gate wasn’t just opening in her.
It was consuming her.
Her voice rang out one last time, clear and steady, echoing through every soul present.
“The choice comes now.”
And then her knees buckled.
She collapsed into the fire.
I screamed her name, reaching through the heat as the battlefield shuddered, but my hand met only flame. Solara vanished into the light, her voice fading into the roar:
“Mother, choose.”
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9:28 Thu, Oct 2
Chapter 236
The Hollow–born army howled louder, sensing the shift. Their voices rose in broken unity, a sound that scraped bone and ripped sky, and the air itself fractured with the force of it.
And then the Gate burst open. It opened in her.
Light exploded from Solara’s body, scaring through the battlefield. Wolves shielded their eyes, Alphas stumbled back, even the Hollow–born recoiled. It wasn’t flame. It wasn’t shadow. It was both, fused and remade, spilling outward in waves of heat and memory.
Solara’s small frame stood unbroken in the center of it, her hair whipping in the wind, her eyes glowing so bright it hurt to look at her. She lifted both hands now, palms outward, as though she could push back the entire world.
And maybe she could.
The Hollow–born shrieked, their forms unraveling in the firestorm. Shadows fled back into the canyon, some dissolving into ash, others sinking into the cracks of the earth. The coalition wolves howled as one, their voices fierce and unbroken for the first time in centuries.
But for me, for Nate, for Ethan, the sight was agony.
Because the Gate wasn’t just opening in her.
It was consuming her.
Her voice rang out one last time, clear and steady, echoing through every soul present.
“The choice comes now.”
And then her knees buckled.
She collapsed into the fire.
I screamed her name, reaching through the heat as the battlefield shuddered, but my hand met only flame. Solara vanished into the light, her voice fading into the roar:
“Mother, choose.”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
