Caius's POV
I was there when the Ruby Wolves were born. Not many remember that vampires helped make them, but I do. I was only a young prince then, barely two hundred years old. Now, watching Kieran clutch the book that had swallowed the Midnight Queen—and possibly Sienna—I felt every one of my thousand years weighing on me.
"We need to get her back," Kieran growled, his purple eyes still sparkling with curse magic.
I nodded, but my attention was split. The ritual spot was still crackling with dark energy. The Queen might be trapped, but her power remained. And something else was coming through the tears in reality—shadowy forms, ancient and hungry.
"The journal won't hold her for long," I said, my voice steady despite my fear. "And we have a bigger problem."
Kieran looked up, finally noticing the dark forms forming around us. "What are those?"
