The chamber was cold, far colder than any prison Aria had ever known. Not physically, but in the way it pressed against her soul—like the weight of unspoken grief and forgotten screams.
Chains of moonlight still wrapped around her wrists, anchored to obsidian pillars carved with sigils she couldn't decipher. Her red hair clung to her cheeks, matted with blood and ash. The stone beneath her knees pulsed with dark energy, feeding on her defiance.
The Whisperer stood just outside the circle, cloaked in an ever-shifting mist. His presence was silent thunder. Ancient. All-consuming.
"You defied the bond," he said, voice silk and knives. "You shattered a gate that should never have been opened."
Aria's voice cracked. "I did what I had to. You won't control me."
He tilted his head. "Oh, but I already do."
He extended a finger, and her veins ignited. She screamed—not from pain, but from the sickening recognition. The darkness inside her responded to his call.
"You were made from this power. You were forged from it. Your soul is its cradle."
Aria gasped. "That's a lie."
"It's truth, child. The truth your ancestors buried."
---
Miles away, Kael's eyes snapped open.
They had camped in the ruins at the edge of the mirror forest, too exhausted to press further. But Kael hadn't slept—not really. His dreams were full of fire, of Aria's scream echoing endlessly.
He rose silently, stepping past Raekon and Lyra. Nyla followed without a word.
"You felt it?" she asked.
"Yes. She's in pain."
"Then why are we waiting?"
Kael's jaw clenched. "Because I don't know how to get to her."
Raekon stirred behind them. "You're not going without us."
"I wasn't asking permission."
"You're thinking with rage, not strategy."
"I'm thinking like a mate who failed her."
---
In the prison, Aria focused her breathing.
The more the Whisperer pushed his magic into her, the more she began to understand its shape. It wasn't just corruption. It was memory. History.
She saw flashes of other Moonbound: women with red hair and burning eyes, slaughtered under red skies. She saw them taken, twisted, turned into weapons.
And she saw him—Kael—in chains. A vision of the future.
"No," she whispered.
"You see now," the Whisperer said. "This is inevitable. He will kneel beside you. Or he will die."
Aria closed her eyes.
Not if I destroy you first.
She called the runes from memory. Every lesson. Every whisper of Lunaria in her blood. The chains sparked.
The Whisperer stepped back, surprised. "You are not ready."
"I don't need to be ready. I need to be angry."
With a roar, Aria broke the left chain.
Blood poured from her palm.
But she smiled.
---
Kael collapsed near a fallen shrine, breathing hard. Raekon pressed his fingers to a bloodstained stone.
"She's close," Raekon whispered. "But… something else is moving."
They heard it then: wings. Shadows passed overhead.
"Vampires," Nyla hissed.
Kael stood, eyes glowing gold.
"Let them come."
The forest erupted into chaos. Shadow beasts lunged from between the trees, summoned by Celene's voice. She emerged, dressed in obsidian armor, eyes gleaming with magic.
"Well, isn't this sweet," she purred. "Kael, the noble Alpha, chasing after his broken little toy."
Kael stepped forward, his aura flaring.
"She was never yours to mock."
"Oh, darling," Celene grinned. "She was always mine to break."
The two clashed. Claws met spells. Nyla and Lyra fended off shadow beasts. Raekon unleashed fire. But Celene's power had grown.
"You think she still wants you?" she spat at Kael. "You doubted her! You accused her! You broke her heart."
Kael's fury faltered for a beat.
"I… I didn't mean to—"
"She ran because of you."
The words hit harder than any blade.
Kael dropped to one knee, struggling.
---
Meanwhile, Aria limped through the Whisperer's sanctum.
Blood dripped from her wrists. Her right chain remained, pulsing with cursed light. But she was free enough to run. She reached a stone altar, etched with warnings in Old Tongue.
And there she saw it: a blade of white fire.
A weapon forged by the First Moonbound, meant for one purpose—severing soul bonds.
She reached for it.
A scream echoed behind her.
Celene.
Aria spun.
Then Kael's voice broke through the shadows.
"Aria!"
Their eyes met.
But it was too late.
The Whisperer returned, bursting from the shadows, slamming Kael into the wall. Celene limped behind him, bleeding.
"You have ruined everything," the Whisperer snarled at her.
Aria stood, weapon in hand.
"Not yet I haven't."
The final battle had begun.
To be continued