The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 125

Chapter 125

And before I could ask again, he nodded toward the open door and the faint flicker of light inside, and said softly, “After you,

Princess.”

I stepped inside the cabin, and the warmth hit me instantly–thick and heavy, like walking into the breath of something alive. The

shift from the cold night air to this almost suffocating warmth made my skin prickle.

The moment Kael and I crossed the doorstep, the door behind us slammed shut with a deep, echoing thud. The sound reverberated

through the space, sharp and final, like the cabin itself had decided we weren’t leaving anytime soon.

I froze, my heart leaping into my throat, and before I could even think, my hand shot out and grabbed Kael’s. His fingers tightened

around mine without hesitation, steady and grounding, though I could feel the tension in him too.

The cabin was dim–almost entirely dark except for the flickering light of a large fire burning in the stone fireplace ahead of us.

Shadows moved along the walls, long and restless, dancing across shelves lined with jars and old books and strange, glinting things

I couldn’t quite make out.

It smelled of smoke and herbs, something sharp and metallic lingering underneath it all. The air hummed faintly, like a low

vibration just below hearing, and the floor creaked under each careful step we took.

Kael moved first, guiding me forward toward the fire, his grip on my hand still firm. I tried to focus on the rhythm of his steps, the

solid sound of his boots against the wooden floor, anything to distract from the way my pulse was hammering in my ears.

“Welcome.”

The voice came from somewhere above us–low, rasping. I flinched so hard my shoulder brushed Kael’s arm, my gaze snapping

upward.

My heart was already hammering, too loud in the silence that followed. The fire crackled, filling the space with that sharp pop of

burning wood, but even that sounded distant–like the cabin itself was holding its breath.

“Seraphina,” Kael said finally, his voice calm, almost casual. But I could hear the tightness beneath it, the strain that didn’t match

his tone. “Nice seeing you after a long time…”

If I hadn’t been holding his hand, I might have believed him. He almost sounded relaxed–almost. But his palm was damp, his

fingers trembling slightly in mine. The small tremor betrayed everything his voice tried to hide.

The sound of footsteps broke through the silence–slow, deliberate.froze where I stood, my fingers tightening around Kael’s hand

before I even realized it. The sound came from the staircase to our right, the one that curved up into darkness.

I turned my head toward it, every creak of the wooden steps echoing through the cabin like the tick of a clock counting down. Then,

through the dim light, I saw movement. A figure descending, step by step.

Seraphina.

At first, I couldn’t make out much of her face–the shadows clung to her like a veil, the flicker of firelight chasing her features but

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Chapter 125

never quite catching them. The hem of her long cloak brushed against the stairs, her bare feet silent on the old wood.

And then she stepped closer–close enough for the light to finally reach her.

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Her hair was long, silver–gray, falling down her back like strands of ash. Her skin was pale but not delicate, more like stone worn by time. And her eyes–God, her eyes–burned red, not glowing exactly, but deep and endless.

But it was the scar that caught me. A single, jagged line that curved along her cheek and down her jaw, framing her entire face like some cruel artist’s mark.

Oh. That’s what Kael had meant.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself not to look away. Not to stare. But it was impossible not to. Because there was something about her–something sharp and wrong and magnetic–that made it impossible to look anywhere else.