The path narrowed until towering walls of black stone closed around Eva and her companions. At the end of the road loomed an enormous gate carved into the likeness of a lion's face, its mane twisting into elaborate patterns of vines and fire. Its eyes, though stone, seemed to follow her every step.

Eva stopped just short of it, her breath catching. The air here was heavy, humming with an ancient presence.

Thorn muttered uneasily, wings twitching. "I don't like this place. Too quiet. Too watchful."

Tiny shifted nervously behind her, his great feet grinding against the earth. "Big door. Bigger lion. Tiny doesn't trust it."

Eva pressed a hand against the stone gate. The carved lion's mouth was open in a silent roar, its fangs sharp enough to look real. She swallowed hard. "It looks alive."

Then, with a rumble that shook the very ground, the gate was alive. The lion's stone eyes lit with golden fire, its head creaking as it pulled free from the wall. Dust cascaded from its mane as it stretched, shaking the centuries from its body.

Eva stumbled back as the massive creature lowered its head, staring down at her with molten eyes.

"Who seeks passage through my gate?" the lion's voice thundered, echoing as though the world itself spoke.

Eva's voice shook but held firm. "I do. My name is Eva. I'm here to reclaim what the Shadow King has stolen."

The lion's gaze swept over her, then flicked briefly to Thorn and Tiny. His tone rumbled with disdain. "The Shadow King's games lure many here. Few dare speak their name so boldly. Fewer still make it this far."

"I have to," Eva said, squaring her shoulders. "I won't give up."

The lion lowered his great stone head closer, until his burning eyes filled her vision. "Courage is easy to claim. Harder to prove. Tell me, girl-what makes your heart worthy of passing my gate?"

Eva faltered. She wanted to say she was brave, but Mira's warning echoed in her mind: You are more than his labyrinth. More than his shadows.

Her chin lifted. "Because I'm not fighting for power or glory. I'm fighting for myself. For who I am, not who he wants me to be."

For a long, tense moment, the lion was silent. Then, slowly, he nodded, firelight flaring brighter in his eyes.

"Spoken with truth. You are not hollow yet." His stone lips curved into something almost like a smile. "Then take my gift, child of courage. For the castle ahead will test more than your will-it will test your very heart."

With that, the lion reared back and gave a roar that split the air. The gates shuddered, the mane carved in stone unraveling into vines that parted before her. The Lion's Gate creaked open, revealing a long glass bridge stretching toward the Shadow King's city.

Before stepping aside, the lion lowered his massive head until his nose nearly touched her hand. "Remember, Eva. Even stone can break, but a true heart endures."

Eva, trembling but resolute, touched the lion's nose gently. "Thank you, Selwyn."

He rumbled deeply, almost like a purr, before stepping back into his place. His body stiffened, his glow dimmed, and once again he was only stone. But the echo of his roar lingered in Eva's chest as she turned toward the glass bridge-and the Shadow King's castle beyond.