Kael's POV
The explosion hits me like a hammer to the chest.
I feel my ribs crack, my armor shatter, my body thrown backward through the air. Pain—so much pain it drowns out even my curse for a moment.
I hit the ground hard and roll, coming up on one knee with my sword already drawn. Blood drips from a cut above my eye, but I'm alive. Barely.
Through the bond, I feel Lyra's terror spike into pure panic.
"KAEL!" Her scream echoes across the courtyard.
"I'm fine!" I shout back, but I don't know if she can hear me through the smoke and chaos. "Lyra, stay back! Don't—"
Too late.
I feel it through the bond—her power surging in response to her fear for me. The shadows in her light grow stronger, darker, hungrier. She thinks I'm dead, and that belief is pushing her toward the exact path the Oracle warned about.
"Lyra, I'm ALIVE!" I roar, trying to reach her through the bond. "Don't let the darkness win!"
But Calista is already moving, her voice amplified by magic so the entire Court can hear: "The corruption spreads! The Reaper has fallen, and now the half-breed shows her true face! Warriors, contain her before she destroys us all!"
A hundred divine warriors charge toward Lyra.
I run faster, pushing through the pain. "Darius! Protect her flank!"
Darius and our small group of allies rush to intercept the warriors, but we're outnumbered ten to one. This is a slaughter waiting to happen.
I reach Lyra just as the first wave of warriors closes in.
She's standing in the center of the ruined prison, her body glowing with that terrifying mix of silver light and shadow. Her eyes—gods, her eyes—they're half silver like mine, half black as night. She's caught between two natures, and the wrong choice will destroy her.
"Lyra." I stop a few feet away, my sword lowered. "Look at me."
Her head snaps toward me. For a second, I see recognition. Then the shadows pulse stronger and she tilts her head like she's listening to voices I can't hear.
"They tried to kill you," she says, her voice strange—layered, like two people speaking at once. "They hurt you because of me."
"I'm fine. It's just a scratch."
"You're bleeding." She takes a step toward me, and the ground beneath her feet cracks. "Everyone who hurts you will pay. Everyone who tries to take you from me will burn."
This is bad. Very bad.
"Lyra, listen to my voice. You're letting rage control your power. That's what Calista wants—she wants you to become the monster so she can justify killing you."
"Maybe I should be a monster." The shadows around her spread like wings. "Monsters don't get betrayed. Monsters don't watch everyone they love die. Monsters don't feel pain."
"That's not true." I take a careful step closer. Warriors surround us, but I ignore them. "Monsters feel nothing but pain. I should know—I've been one for three hundred years. And Lyra, it's not worth it. Don't become like me."
"You're not a monster," she whispers. "You saved me."
"Then let me save you again." I reach for her through the bond, pushing every ounce of certainty I have. "I know you're scared. I know you're angry. But you're stronger than this darkness. Your mother died protecting you from it—don't let her sacrifice be for nothing."
For a heartbeat, the shadows in her light flicker. The black veins on her skin fade slightly.
Then Calista's voice cuts through: "Archers! Aim for the girl! Fire on my command!"
Fifty archers raise their bows, arrows glowing with execution magic.
Lyra's eyes snap toward them, and I feel her rage explode through the bond.
"They want me dead?" Her voice echoes with power. "Fine. Let's see them try."
She raises her hands, and I know with absolute certainty: if she unleashes her power now, in this state, she'll kill everyone. The Celestial Court. The warriors. Maybe even me and our allies. And once she starts, the darkness will consume her completely.
I have only one option.
I drop my sword and step directly in front of her, blocking her view of the archers.
"Kael, move!" she shouts. "They'll kill you!"
"Then they'll have to go through me to get to you." I spread my arms wide, making myself the biggest target possible. "Because I'm not moving. If you want to destroy them, you'll have to destroy me first."
"What? No! I would never—"
"Prove it." I take another step closer, now within arm's reach. "Prove you're not the monster they think you are. Prove you can control this power. Prove that the girl who healed a dying child yesterday is still in there."
Tears stream down her face, cutting through the black veins. "I don't know how! It's too much, Kael. I can't—"
"Yes, you can." I reach up slowly and cup her face in my hands. The moment I touch her, the bond flares so bright it hurts. "Because you're not alone. I'm here. I'm right here with you. And I'm not leaving."
Through the bond, I deliberately lower every wall I've ever built. I let her feel everything—my pain, my curse, my three hundred years of suffering. But I also let her feel something I've hidden for so long I almost forgot it existed: hope.
Hope that maybe I don't have to be a monster forever.
Hope that someone as broken as me might deserve a second chance.
Hope that this brave, terrified girl in my arms might be the one to finally end my curse.
"You made me want to live again," I tell her quietly. "Don't make me watch you die. Please, Lyra. Come back to me."
Her glowing eyes search mine. I feel her power warring inside her—creation against destruction, light against shadow, love against hate.
She's standing at the crossroads the Oracle showed her.
And I can't choose for her.
"Archers!" Calista screams. "FIRE!"
Fifty arrows fly toward us.
Lyra gasps. Her hands come up, power exploding outward—
But it's not destruction.
It's a shield.
Silver light—pure, untainted by shadow—erupts from her palms and wraps around both of us like wings. The arrows hit the shield and disintegrate harmlessly.
The moment she chooses protection over destruction, something changes. The black veins on her skin start to fade. The shadows in her power retreat. Her eyes shift back to pure silver, glowing with tears and relief and exhausted triumph.
She chose love.
She chose the right path.
"I've got you," I whisper, catching her as her legs give out. "You did it, little wolf. You did it."
But the celebration is short-lived.
Calista's face twists with fury. "She's still corrupted! Look at her power—it's unnatural! She must be destroyed!"
"The only corruption here," a new voice booms, "is yours, Calista."
Everyone turns.
An old woman steps through the crowd—the Oracle. But she's not alone.
Behind her walks a man who makes every warrior in the courtyard drop to their knees in terror and reverence.
He's tall, ancient, with eyes that hold the birth and death of stars. Power radiates from him like heat from the sun. When he speaks, reality itself bends to listen.
"I am Erebus," he says, his voice shaking the ground. "First of the Elder Gods. Father of the Celestial Court. And I'm here to set the record straight."
Calista goes pale. "My lord, I can explain—"
"Explain how you murdered Selene, the Moon Goddess?" Erebus's eyes burn with cold fury. "Explain how you've been hunting her innocent daughter for twenty-five years? Explain how you've betrayed everything this Court stands for?"
The courtyard goes deathly silent.
"I have proof," the Oracle says, holding up a crystal that glows with trapped memories. "Every moment of Selene's murder. Every lie Calista told. Every innocent being she's killed to hide her crimes. All of it, preserved and ready to be witnessed by the full Council."
Calista looks around wildly, like a trapped animal. "You don't understand! Selene's child threatens the balance! I was protecting—"
"You were protecting your own power," Erebus interrupts. "And now, you'll face justice."
He raises his hand, and chains of pure starlight wrap around Calista, binding her completely.
"Take her to the judgment cells," he orders. "And someone bring the girl—gently—she's been through enough."
I help Lyra stand. She's exhausted, barely able to walk, but alive. Whole. Still herself despite everything.
"Is it over?" she whispers against my shoulder.
"Almost," I tell her.
Erebus approaches us slowly. When he looks at Lyra, his stern expression softens. "You look just like your mother. She would be so proud of what you've become."
"You knew her?" Lyra asks.
"I loved her. She was like a daughter to me." Erebus's voice cracks slightly. "And I failed to protect her. But I won't fail you. From this moment forward, you are under my personal protection. No one in any realm can touch you without answering to me."
Relief floods through me. She's safe. Finally safe.
But then Erebus turns to me, and his expression grows serious.
"Kael Nightborne. The Reaper. The cursed one." He studies me carefully. "You've done well protecting Selene's daughter. And I can see through the bond that you care for her beyond duty."
"I do," I admit.
"Good. Because I'm about to make your situation much more complicated." Erebus waves his hand, and suddenly everyone can see the Soul Bond connecting me and Lyra—a silver thread that pulses between our hearts.
"This bond was meant to be temporary," Erebus says. "A way to keep Lyra safe until the truth came out. But something has changed. The bond has evolved into something deeper. Something permanent."
My blood runs cold. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," Erebus says gravely, "that you two are now true mates. Soul-bonded for eternity. And in three days, during the next full moon, the bond will complete itself."
"Complete itself how?" Lyra asks nervously.
Erebus looks between us. "You'll become one soul in two bodies. You'll share not just emotions, but thoughts, memories, power—everything. There will be no secrets, no walls, no separation. You'll be bound tighter than any marriage, any oath, any magic in existence."
"And if we refuse?" I ask, though I already know the answer.
"You can't. The bond has already chosen. Refusing it now would kill you both." Erebus's expression turns sympathetic. "I'm sorry. I know neither of you asked for this. But fate, it seems, has other plans."
He turns to leave, then stops. "Oh, and one more thing. Lyra's power awakening has attracted attention from realms beyond ours. Dark forces who want to use her. Light forces who want to control her. And something ancient that's been sleeping for millennia—something that's starting to wake up."
"What is it?" Lyra asks.
Erebus meets her eyes. "Your father."
The world seems to stop.
"My father is alive?" Lyra's voice shakes. "The mortal king? But I thought—"
"He wasn't just a mortal king," Erebus says quietly. "That was a lie Selene told to protect you both. Your father is the Shadow King. And now that your power has awakened, he knows exactly where you are."