Chapter 160 160 The Blood That Came Before

• Xavier***
• The howl still echoed through the trees, not just a sound but a memory clawing its way through time. It wasn’t the cry of a beast—it was grief made sound, ancient and unforgiving. It reverberated through the trunks, rattling leaves like whispered names of the dead. It was deeper, older, as if the very bones of the earth were mourning something long lost and half-remembered.
• Henry stood rigid in front of me, his shoulders squared against the wind as though bracing for a blow he could not see. The air howled around him, clawing at his clothes like phantom fingers desperate to tear away his resolve. Behind him, Fiona remained utterly still—a ghost made of defiance and sorrow. Her white cloak snapped like a banner in revolt, and her silver hair, once regal and composed, now clung wet and wild to her face, streaked with the first mournful tears of the sky.