Chapter 55

In the treehut, Kaan keeps vigil over the Moltenmaw nesting grounds while Roan tinkers and Pyrok snores above. He watches Raeve sleeping and steels himself for the risky attempt to claim the final moonshard needed to make Slátra whole.

As dawn activity begins, an azure Moltenmaw hatches and a buck returns to tend the nest. Kaan waits for the pink dam. When she finally emerges, her grief is palpable; her mate is gone. In her nest, Kaan spots a single soft‑colored egg beside a luminous silver shard.

Raeve suddenly appears beside Kaan with eyes gone black and speckled like a star‑field. She descends the stairs, smashes an exit vial, and recoils from the bright outside, moving with feral precision. Kaan follows, alarmed by her unarmed approach toward the nesting grounds.

When Kaan grabs her arm, Raeve pins him to the tree with predatory force, her breath icy and a flicker of blue flame in her throat. Kaan warns that he smells like her and Rygun, which will draw a swarm and get her killed. The edge of her snarl eases as the ancient presence listens.

Speaking through Raeve, the entity vows, “I will bring her back to you when I am done,” and calls Kaan “mate of my Precious One.” Shaken, Kaan watches as Raeve—still possessed—turns and prowls alone toward the bog and the nest holding the shard.