The ritual chamber in the witches' stronghold pulsed with low, thrumming energy. Candles flickered with blue flames, casting eerie shadows on the ancient runes etched across the stone floor. Kael stood at the center of a salt circle, breath shaky, his fingertips trembling. Sweat clung to his brow, and his shirt stuck to his skin as if trying to fuse with his heartbeat.
Elias stood just outside the circle, arms crossed over his chest, his dark eyes narrowed and alert. Every muscle in his body ached with the instinct to rush forward, to pull Kael out and end the madness. But this had been Kael's choice—to sever the pact. To free them both.
"You're sure?" Elias asked again, voice gravel-laced with unspoken pain.
Kael didn't meet his eyes. "I have to know if it's really fate... or just a mistake made under moonlight and lust."
The High Priestess of the witches stepped forward. Her silver eyes glinted in the low light. "If you sever the pact, the connection will be destroyed. Permanently. The child will carry no vampire legacy. No fae. Only fragments."
Elias's jaw clenched. "That child is mine. He has a legacy—ours."
Kael's gaze snapped to Elias, raw and tortured. "That legacy is why I'm hunted by my own blood. Why I wake up every night feeling my womb burn like it's being carved with prophecy."
The ritual began.
Ancient chants echoed through the cavern. The salt circle ignited in green flames. Runes flared bright beneath Kael's bare feet. Power surged through the air like a summer storm, crackling with danger. Kael bit down on a cry as pain arced through his body, fingers curling around his belly, where life stirred violently in protest.
Elias stepped forward but was stopped by a magical barrier. "Kael!"
The sigil on Kael's skin—the one left by Elias on their night of passion—flared crimson. It lifted from his skin, glowing, twisting, resisting. A spectral thread burst from Kael's chest, stretching toward Elias. A second thread surged from Elias's heart, meeting Kael's mid-air.
Instead of disintegrating, they fused into a double helix of light.
The room exploded with magic.
Kael screamed, collapsing to his knees as the ritual shattered. The witches were thrown back. The flames went out. Smoke choked the air.
When the haze cleared, Elias was at Kael's side, cradling him.
Kael looked up, vision swimming. "The pact… it's deeper than we thought."
The High Priestess slowly approached, brushing ash from her robes. Her expression was grim. "It cannot be broken. Not by mortal or magic. You two are soul-bound, blood-bound, fate-bound. What was sealed under the Pact Moon is eternal."
Elias brushed Kael's hair back, holding him close.
Kael whispered, "Then why do I feel like I'm breaking?"
Elias kissed his temple. "Because you're scared. But you're not alone."
Kael's hand rested over his belly. A soft glow pulsed beneath his skin. The baby.
"Your child just resisted a ritual that predates kingdoms," the High Priestess murmured. "You're not just bonded, Kael. You're carrying a miracle. Or a curse."
Outside the chamber, distant howls echoed—unnatural and foreboding.
Enemies had felt the ripple.
And they were coming.