All Chapters of The Howling Throne: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Pain laced through Elior’s body as he forced himself upright. The burning sensation where the shadow had struck him lingered, an invisible scar seared into his very soul. His breath came in sharp gasps, his fingers clutching at the damp earth beneath him as he tried to steady himself. The forest was eerily silent now, save for the heavy breathing of his companions. Myrra’s golden magic flickered around her hands, a last lingering defense against whatever had just tried to claim him.“Elior.” Sienna’s voice was sharp, urgent. She knelt beside him, her hands pressing against his shoulders. “Talk to me. What happened?”He blinked rapidly, trying to focus. His mind still echoed with the last words of the First King—Fight it!“I…” Elior swallowed, his throat dry. “I don’t know.”Rael’s expression was grim. “That wasn’t just some random shadow. That was the Veil itself.”Bram wiped a hand over his face, his knuckles white around the handle of his axe. “Then we should leave. Now.”Freya nodde

The ruins of Dawnfire loomed before them, bathed in the pale morning light. Elior’s breath misted in the cold air as he took his first step past the crumbling archway that marked the city’s entrance. The others followed in silence, their eyes wide with wary fascination. The echoes of the past whispered through the wind, the weight of history pressing down on them like an unseen force.Bram let out a low whistle as he surveyed the remnants of once-great structures. “I expected more… decay.”“There’s magic here,” Myrra murmured, her golden eyes narrowing. “Something is preserving this place.”Elior nodded, his gaze sweeping over the towering stone pillars and shattered statues that lined what had once been the main thoroughfare. Time had worn away the finer details, but the grandeur remained. More unsettling, however, was the feeling that they were being watched.Freya ran a gloved hand along a wall, her fingers tracing symbols half-buried beneath layers of ivy. “This wasn’t just a city,

The air around them was heavy with silence. Elior’s words still lingered, wrapping around his companions like an unshakable spell. The weight of the decision settled in his chest, solid and unmoving. He knew what had to be done, but the path ahead was shrouded in uncertainty.Bram let out a slow breath, running a hand through his hair. “Destroy the throne? That’s not exactly something you can just smash with a hammer.”Myrra’s golden eyes flickered with unease. “It was forged with ancient magic, a power tied to the Veil itself. If it’s an anchor, then breaking it might not just unseat kings, it could unravel everything.”Elior turned back to the throne, its dark presence thrumming like a heartbeat. The First King’s warning echoed in his mind.Do not hesitate, Harbinger.His fingers curled around the hilt of the Veilblade. The weapon was the key. It had always been the key. The First King’s final battle had sealed the cycle, perhaps it was time to unmake it.Sienna stepped beside him, h

The air was thick with the remnants of fading magic, the scent of burnt ozone lingering in the ruins of Dawnfire. The Veilborn were gone, at least for now, but their presence had left something behind, something Elior could still feel pressing against the edges of his mind.His fingers curled into fists. The battle had been won, but it was not victory. It was a warning.Myrra wiped the sweat from her brow, her golden eyes flickering with exhaustion. “That wasn’t supposed to work,” she muttered, shaking her head as if trying to dispel the weight of what had just happened. “The throne’s power should have been lost when we destroyed it. But this… this means something still lingers.”Bram snorted, rolling his shoulders. “Yeah, like whatever the hell those things were.” His gaze swept over the ruins, searching for any remaining movement. “I thought destroying the throne was supposed to stop things like this.”“The throne was a lock,” the First King murmured, his spectral form flickering sl

Silence held the forest in an iron grip. The woman’s presence felt like a weight pressing against Elior’s chest, a force that did not belong in the world he knew. The shard in her palm pulsed, its silver veins flickering like lightning trapped in glass.Elior forced his voice to remain steady. “If that’s the heart of the Veil, then why is it breaking?”The woman studied him, or at least he thought she did beneath the shadows of her hood. “Because it was never meant to last.”Myrra stepped forward, her golden eyes glowing. “That’s not an answer.”The woman turned slightly, her robes shifting like liquid midnight. “It is the only one I will give.”Elior’s patience thinned. “If the Veil collapses, what happens to everything inside it?”For the first time, the woman hesitated. It was barely a flicker, a pause in her stance, but Elior caught it. Whatever the truth was, she was weighing whether to say it aloud.Then she spoke.“It ceases.”The single word sent a chill down his spine.Rael s