The battlefield quaked as if the earth itself recoiled from the storm unfurling.
Selene's heart pounded, her gaze locked on Rael. That flicker of recognition—the faint curve of his lips—was a lifeline she clung to like air in drowning waters.
But Malrik felt it too.
From the shadowed ridge, the warlord's presence loomed, a blot of seething darkness that bent the battlefield to his will. His voice slithered across the chaos, ancient and venomous, echoing in bone and blood.
"You dare resist me, boy?"
Rael convulsed. His wings snapped wide, chains digging into raw flesh, glowing brighter with every heartbeat. His golden eyes flared, caught between two fires—the sickly crimson of Malrik's dominion and the pure, desperate flame of his own soul.
Selene stepped forward, blade raised, but the ground cracked open at Malrik's command, spewing black fire that split the warriors apart. Kieran dragged her back just as the surge of shadow scorched the place where she had stood.
"Selene!" Kieran's voice was iron, his grip anchoring her arm. "He'll crush Rael if you rush blindly."
"I can't just stand here!" Her voice broke, raw with rage and love. "Every second he's chained, Malrik is poisoning him!"
Malrik's laughter rolled across the battlefield, deep and merciless.
"A mother's love? Pathetic. You think it can undo what I've wrought? He is mine now—my blade, my fury. The boy is gone."
Selene's silver eyes ignited, tears cutting hot trails against her bloodied cheeks. "You're wrong. You will never erase him. He is my son."
Rael's body arched in agony as the warlord's power coiled tighter around him. The chains writhed like serpents, embedding deeper into his flesh. He let out a guttural cry, and for a terrifying moment, his golden gaze dimmed—Malrik's crimson swallowing the light.
"No…" Selene whispered, stepping forward.
Kieran's hand tightened around hers, his dark eyes unyielding. "Then fight for him—not with reckless rage, but with precision. With me."
Together, they moved.
Kieran carved through the Hollow Flame soldiers, his strikes clean, ruthless, every motion designed to clear the path. Selene followed in his wake, her blade singing with silver fire, her heart a drumbeat of defiance.
Rael's cry split the air again, this time ragged, but within it Selene heard more than pain—she heard struggle. Resistance.
She reached out, her voice tearing across the battlefield like a vow.
"Rael! Hear me! You are not his weapon—you are my son!"
Malrik's shadow surged, wrapping tighter around Rael, as if the warlord feared her words more than steel. His snarl cracked the sky.
"Silence her!"
But Selene's voice only grew stronger, rising above the chaos, burning like a beacon. "You are not chains, you are not shadow. You are fire. You are mine."
For a heartbeat, the battlefield stilled. Rael's head lifted, his eyes locking with hers. The crimson in his gaze wavered—faltering beneath the weight of her truth.
The chains groaned. Cracks of golden light began to split their blackened surface.
Kieran's lips curved into the faintest of grim smiles, his blade poised to cut down the next wave. "He's fighting. Selene… he's truly fighting."
And for the first time, Malrik's voice was not amused, not confident.
It was enraged.
"No. He is MINE!"
The battlefield trembled as the warlord unleashed a storm of shadow flame that swallowed the sky.
Selene tightened her grip on her sword, her heart ablaze. She knew this was only the beginning.