The graveyard smelled like rain and death.
Aria stepped into the cursed circle just as the sky began to bleed silver. Storm clouds rolled like angry gods, the moon hidden behind their fury. Magic buzzed in the air—thick, dark, and hungry.
Dorian stood at the edge of a shallow grave, chest bare, blood dripping from his hands into the soil. His eyes widened the moment he saw her.
"You came."
Aria didn't flinch. "To end it."
Behind him, the witch smiled with stained teeth, her skeletal fingers dancing over the runes carved into the earth. The ritual was near completion. Aria could feel it—like a rope twisting tighter around her lungs.
"You don't understand," Dorian said quickly. "I didn't want to hurt you. I just needed more time. I needed her back."
Aria's eyes narrowed. "Carys."
The grave quivered.
A long, thin hand reached out from the earth.
Kael appeared at her side, his sword gleaming with silvery runes. "That's not resurrection," he growled. "That's possession."
Dorian stepped forward, eyes wild. "She was my mate! You can't understand what it's like to lose someone like that!"
Aria's voice trembled, not with fear—but with rage. "You didn't lose her. You killed me to bring her back."
"I loved you."
"No," she said. "You loved the power I carried."
The air split with lightning.
Aria stepped into the circle.
The witch shrieked. "If you break the bond now, it will destroy you!"
Aria's mark burned white-hot.
"Then let it."
She turned to Dorian, her voice like stone. "I reject you. In soul. In blood. In bond."
The silver thread between them snapped with a sound like thunder.
Dorian howled, collapsing to his knees.
The witch screamed as Aria's aura exploded outward—silver fire sweeping across the graveyard, burning through the circle, unraveling every rune in its path.
The grave split open.
A ghostly figure rose—a girl in white with hollow eyes and long, tangled hair.
"Carys," Aria whispered.
But the ghost did not look at Dorian.
She looked at Aria.
"I never asked for this," Carys said, her voice echoing like wind in a crypt. "He dragged me back… for himself. Not for love."
Dorian sobbed. "I wanted us again."
Carys's spirit glowed with pale light. "Then you should've let me go."
And with that, she turned to Aria, touching her hand once.
"You are the moon's heir now. Burn the rot away."
Then she vanished.
The witch tried to run.
Aria raised her hand.
Silver fire curled from her fingertips.
With a scream, the witch disintegrated into ash.
Silence fell.
Kael stepped forward, voice low. "It's done."
Aria's knees buckled, and he caught her.
The clouds parted.
The full moon shone bright on her mark—no longer just a crescent.
It had become a full moon, surrounded by runes of light.
She was no longer bound.
She was born again.