Page 95 of Echoes From the Void
Seventeen lives.
Seventeen souls.
Consumed by the dark.
And it’s still hungry.
As Leo’s sisters continue their tipsy karaoke, oblivious to what we’ve discovered, I feel it through our newly forged bond—Frankie’s quiet resolve solidifying. The void consuming those seventeen souls has only strengthened her conviction. She’s always been willing to sacrifice herself, but now...
Now she sees it as inevitable.
“Don’t,” I whisper, gripping her hand tighter as my frost patterns betray my fear. “I can feel what you’re thinking.”
She meets my eyes, and for a moment I see everything she’s not saying. How the void’s hunger reminds her of her own darkness. How she’s already calculating what her and Finn’s combined power might do against that consuming emptiness.
“We need to tell them,” is all she says, but through our bond, I feel her love—for me, for the pack, for everyone in this room. Feel how that love feeds her determination to protect us all, no matter the cost.
The irony burns like frost in my veins. I’m finally free of my curse, finally young and whole andhers, only to feel her slipping toward sacrifice with each passing moment.
“Bishop,” I call out, my frost patterns betraying my urgency even as I try to maintain composure. His Guardian marks pulse in response as he breaks away from his conversation with Matteo. “We have a situation.”
The void pulses beneath our feet, hungry and patient. Through our new bond, I feel how Frankie senses it—like a living darkness waiting to devour everything we love. My frost spreads unconsciously, trying to protect against something I can’t fight.
Bishop’s tactical mind engages instantly—I see it in how his posture shifts, how his marks glow brighter as his eyes scan the room full of people we need to protect. “How far has it spread?”
“Under the entire island,” Frankie answers, her shadows coiling restlessly. “It’s not just pressing in from the edges anymore. It’s beneath us, eating its way up.”
Matteo appears silently at her other side, new fangs flashing as he scents the air. “That’s what’s been wrong. The corruption in the air—it’s coming from below.”
Through our various bonds, I feel the pack’s rising tension. Feel Leo’s sunshine presence dim as he catches our expressions. Feel Matteo’s predator nature rising in response to Frankie’s determination. But most of all, I feel her—our newly forged connection making her thoughts crystal clear.
If the void can consume seventeen souls so easily...
If it’s already under the island...
Then maybe sacrifice is the only answer.
“We need to evacuate,” Bishop says, already reaching for his phone. “Get everyone off the island before-”
A low rumble cuts him off. Glasses rattle on tables. The karaoke machine squeals feedback. My frost patterns splinteras I sense the temporal disturbances caused by the void’s movement.
“It’s accelerating,” I say, watching my frost spread across the floor as I track the corruption’s progress. “The consumption of those prisoners must have given it enough power to-”
Another rumble, stronger this time. Through our bond, I feel Frankie’s decision crystallizing, her shadows already reaching with terrible purpose.
“Get them out,” she says quietly. “All of them. Now.”
“Frankie-” I start, but she cuts me off with a kiss that tastes like goodbye. My frost mingles with her shadows one last time, desperate to hold on.
“I love you,” she whispers against my lips. “All of you. That’s why I have to-”
The ground shudders violently, crumbling at the edges of the cafeteria. We all freeze, watching darkness seep through widening cracks—then, inexplicably, it stops. The void pulses beneath us like something taking a deep breath. My newly mortal senses scream at its wrongness.
“It’s gathering strength,” Bishop says quietly, Guardian marks pulsing as he reads the energy. “We have maybe hours before...”
“Before it consumes everything,” I finish, feeling Frankie’s grip tighten on my hand. Through our bond, her love wars with her determination to protect us all.
“Right then,” Andy says, cutting through the heavy silence. She looks at Leo’s sisters, then at my uncle, something passing between them that makes him actually blush. “Girls, you’re coming with us. Plenty of room above the bar.”
