Chapter 23 Shadow Wolves
Power never arrives all at once. It grows. Feeds. Learns. And sometimes it becomes hungry. Eemil noticed the change first. Not in himself. In the wolves. The shadows no longer felt like tools. They felt alive. The first fox had obeyed because he commanded it. The wolves obeyed because they wanted to. That difference unsettled him. And thrilled him. Five shadow wolves followed him now. Larger than horses. Their bodies seemed carved from darkness itself. Silver eyes burned inside black skull-like faces. Their paws left no tracks. Their breath resembled smoke. Sometimes they vanished entirely. Only to emerge from another shadow moments later. Like predators slipping between worlds. The other Chosen avoided him now. Most crossed the road when they saw him approaching. Some whispered. Others fled. Eemil enjoyed all of it. The fear. The respect. The attention. Especially the attention. Because for most of his life nobody had noticed him. Now everyone did. Everyone except Moon. The thought immediately ruined his mood. The wolves sensed it. Their ears flattened. Their silver eyes shifted toward him Waiting. Watching. Hungry.
Eemil kicked a nearby stone.
It exploded into fragments.
"Stupid."
The word escaped through clenched teeth. Moon should have noticed him. Moon should have looked at him. Should have smiled at him. Should have chosen him. Instead Moon chose Nico. Always Nico. The quiet one. The silent one. The boring one. The thought repeated itself endlessly. Like poison. Like infection. Like rot. The more Eemil thought about it the more it hurt. And the more it hurt the stronger his wolves became.
One evening he sat atop a rocky cliff. Far below the lake shimmered beneath moonlight. The same lake where he first saw Moon. The same lake where everything began. The same lake where everything went wrong. His fox sat beside him. The original shadow. The first. The creature stared silently across the water. Then its eyes suddenly brightened. Eemil froze. Because he knew exactly what that meant. The fox had found them. Again. The creature's vision flowed into his mind. The world shifted. And suddenly Eemil was seeing through different eyes. Fox eyes. Shadow eyes. Watching. Spying. Obsessing.
Moon stood near the shoreline. Long black hair dancing softly in the wind. Moonlight reflected across pale skin. Tiny fairies drifted around him. Silver stars. Living moonlight. Beautiful. Perfect. And beside him stood Nico. Always Nico. The two sat together beneath an ancient tree. Speaking quietly. Laughing. Smiling. The sight struck Eemil harder than any blade. Because Moon looked happy. Genuinely happy. A happiness Eemil had never received. A happiness reserved for someone else. His fists tightened. The wolves growled. Low. Dangerous. The shadows around him deepened. Branches nearby withered. The air grew colder. The wolves began multiplying. One became two. Two became three. Three became six. Then seven. The new wolves emerged directly from his shadow. Larger than before. More detailed. More real. The power reacted to his emotions. To jealousy. To pain. To obsession. And Eemil fed it willingly.
Far below Moon suddenly looked upward. Straight toward the cliff. Straight toward him. Eemil's breath caught. For a single moment their eyes met. Across impossible distance. Moon's jet-black eyes reflected silver moonlight. Beautiful. Unreachable. The celestial tilted his head. Confused. Then smiled politely. The same smile he gave everyone. Not special. Not personal. Not his. Eemil felt something crack inside him. A tiny fracture. Small. Almost insignificant. Yet dangerous. Because every great collapse begins with a single crack. Moon returned his attention to Nico. The smile changed immediately. Softer. Warmer. Real. Eemil saw the difference. And hated it. The wolves felt it too. They howled. The sound echoed through the mountains. Long. Lonely. Hungry. Predatory.
Below the cliff Moon looked upward again. This time his expression seemed sad. As though he pitied something. Someone. The thought enraged Eemil further. He didn't want pity. He wanted Moon. The realization shocked him. Not admiration. Not infatuation. Want. Possession. Need. Something darker than love. Something selfish. Something dangerous. The wolves gathered around him. Seven enormous beasts. Their eyes burned brighter than before. Their forms becoming increasingly solid. Increasingly real.
Eemil stood. Moonlight painted silver lines across his face. The future Shadow King looked down toward the lake one final time. Toward Moon. Toward Nico. Toward everything he believed should belong to him. Then he turned away. The wolves followed. Seven shadows disappearing into darkness. And somewhere far above one of the Moon Gods watched silently Observing. Judging. Because power was growing inside Eemil. Rapidly. Dangerously. But the thing growing fastest was not his strength. It was jealousy.
Far below, Moon watched the darkness vanish into the forest. A faint sadness touched his expression. As though he sensed a storm approaching. As though he could already hear the wolves howling in the distance. And somewhere deep inside those shadows a future king was beginning to be born.
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