The scent of dusk fell heavy over Obsidian Keep as the moon climbed through a veil of twilight clouds. Seraphina stood on the terrace of the western spire, wrapped in a cloak stitched with wolf fur, the wind playing with her silvery hair. The weight of the last trial still clung to her shoulders, but there was no time for reflection—not now. Not when the final test loomed, promising answers, pain, and a choice she wasn't sure she wanted to make.
The Trial of Devotion.
No one had told her what it entailed. Not even Lucien. Especially not Lucien.
He had been distant since their kiss.
And yet, she felt his presence more than ever—his magic lingered in the hallways like a shadow waiting to be touched, his voice echoed in her dreams, and the way he had looked at her... as if he'd seen not just her body but the flame of something deeper, something ancient.
Now, she would face the last crucible.
The obsidian bell rang from the great tower, a low, resonant sound that shook the bones. Seraphina turned from the balcony. Her time had come.
---
The sanctum of trials lay beneath the oldest part of the keep. Black walls shimmered with embedded crystals as she walked alone, her footsteps the only sound. At the heart of the circular chamber stood a stone dais surrounded by a shallow pool of violet liquid. Above it, a dome of glass revealed the sky—and the blood moon.
Lucien waited, garbed in ceremonial black, silver runes tracing up his arms and neck like vines of light.
"Do you trust me?" he asked.
She blinked. "Is that a requirement?"
"No," he said, stepping forward. "But it will make what comes next easier."
She studied him. His jaw was tense. His eyes unreadable. But there was something else—a tremble in his aura.
Fear?
Lucien, the fearsome Dark Alpha, was afraid.
Of what?
"Step into the circle," he said.
She did.
The violet pool shimmered. Magic stirred.
Lucien raised his hands. "By the Rite of the Moon's Shadow, the final trial begins."
The crystals pulsed.
Seraphina gasped as heat raced up her spine. The world blurred.
She fell.
---
This time, she landed in a field of golden light. Grass touched her knees. A soft wind whispered songs in a language she didn't know. She stood in a circle of ancient stones.
In the center stood a figure—a woman clad in blue fire and shadow.
Her mother.
Not her foster mother. Her true mother.
"Seraphina," the woman whispered.
Her heart twisted. "How—how are you here?"
"I never left." The woman stepped forward. "I am the fire in your blood. The voice in your dreams. I am the Luna before the curse."
Tears welled in Seraphina's eyes.
"The curse was never meant for you," her mother continued. "It was cast to bind me. But when I died giving birth to you... it transferred."
Seraphina fell to her knees. "Why me?"
"Because fate needed balance. Because love needed rebirth. And because your soul was strong enough to survive it."
A vision unfolded around her—the same flames, the same screams from her past—but this time, a voice called through the fire.
Lucien.
He had been there, even then.
Watching.
Waiting.
Searching.
"You were always meant to find each other," her mother said. "But love alone will not break the curse. A choice must be made."
"What choice?"
"To keep your power... or to give it up and save him."
Seraphina's blood chilled. "Save who?"
Before she could answer, the vision shattered.
---
She awoke on the dais, gasping. Lucien caught her, his arms wrapping tightly around her.
"What did you see?" he whispered.
"My mother," she said, barely able to speak. "She said I have to choose. Keep my power... or save you."
Lucien froze.
"Is it true?" she asked.
He hesitated. Then nodded. "There is a prophecy. The last Luna must sacrifice her bond to break the curse. If you don't... I die when the bond seals."
Seraphina stumbled back. "You knew?"
"I hoped it wasn't true."
She trembled. "So you were planning to die?"
"If it meant protecting you... yes."
Fury and sorrow tore through her. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I knew what you'd do," he said, stepping close. "You'd try to save me. You'd give up everything. And I couldn't bear to see that fire go out."
Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Lucien... I don't want to lose you."
He cupped her face. "Then don't."
"But if I save you, the curse remains. I stay bound. I stay hunted. I—"
"Then we fight it together."
Her heart thundered.
She stepped into his arms.
And in that moment, the circle of Elders that had silently watched from the shadows stepped forward.
The gray-eyed Elder raised her staff.
"The Luna has chosen not just survival... but love. Let the bond be sealed."
The violet pool surged upward, wrapping around Seraphina and Lucien in a cyclone of light.
Their hands clasped.
Their marks flared.
The moon turned red.
And the world tilted.
---
Later that night, the keep feasted in silence.
Seraphina sat beside Lucien at the head of the obsidian table. Every eye watched her. Some with respect. Some with fear. But no one spoke against her.
She had passed the trials.
She had chosen love.
And yet... as the firelight flickered against her goblet, a chill danced down her spine.
In the corner of the hall, a figure stood—a woman in emerald robes, face veiled, eyes like venom.
She met Seraphina's gaze.
And smiled.