CELESTE'S POV
I couldn't breathe.
My lungs burned. My chest felt like it was splitting open. But the worst part? The absolute worst part was feeling Theron's scream through our soul bond.
His pain crashed into me like a wave—raw, desperate, terrified.
For me.
I tried to open my eyes, but everything was dark. Not normal dark. This was the kind of darkness that swallowed light, that ate hope, that made you feel like you'd never see the sun again.
"Celeste!" Theron's voice sounded far away, even though I knew he was close. "Stay with me!"
I wanted to answer. I really did. But the dark magic Morgath hit me with was spreading through my body like poison. I could feel it crawling under my skin, cold and wrong.
And because of our soul bond, Theron felt it too.
"How touching," Morgath's voice purred. "The great prophecy children, brought down so easily. I expected more of a fight."
"You want a fight?" Theron's voice was different now. Colder than I'd ever heard it. Deadly. "I'll give you a war."
Something changed in the air. The temperature dropped so fast I could feel it even through the darkness consuming me. Then I heard Morgath gasp.
"Impossible," she whispered. "Your shadow magic—it's merged with her celestial power. You shouldn't be able to—"
The sound that came next made my blood freeze. It was like the sky was tearing apart.
Suddenly, the darkness around me started to crack. Silver light pushed through—Theron's transformed shadow magic mixed with something else. Something that felt like me.
He was using our bond to reach me.
"I'm not losing you," Theron growled. "Not after everything. Not ever."
The darkness shattered.
I gasped, sucking in air like I'd been drowning. My eyes flew open. Theron was kneeling beside me, one hand pressed to my chest where Morgath's dark magic had hit. His hand glowed with silver-black light—twilight magic, just like when we reinforced the Veil.
But something was different about him. His eyes blazed with power I'd never seen before. The curse marks on his skin weren't just silver anymore. They pulsed with starlight.
"Theron," I whispered. "Your eyes—"
"I know." He helped me sit up, never taking his hand away. "When she hurt you, something inside me broke. Or maybe it unlocked. I don't know."
I looked past him. Morgath stood twenty feet away, her perfect smile gone. She looked shocked. Maybe even scared.
"You broke my death curse," she said slowly. "No one breaks my death curses."
"I'm not no one." Theron stood, pulling me up with him. "I'm the Cursed Knight. And you just made a very big mistake."
"What mistake?" Morgath's smile returned, but it looked forced. "You're still just two children playing with powers you don't understand."
"Wrong again." I stepped forward, even though my legs shook. The place where her magic hit me still hurt, but I could feel it healing. Theron's power through our bond was burning the darkness away. "We understand perfectly."
I raised my hands. Starlight blazed around them, brighter than before. But now it was mixed with shadows—Theron's magic flowing through our connection.
Morgath's eyes widened. "The prophecy spoke of this. Twilight Magic. The power that exists between light and dark. But it takes years to master—"
"We don't have years," Theron said. "We have each other. And that's enough."
We attacked together.
I'd never felt anything like it. Every move Theron made, I knew before he made it. Every spell I cast, he supported with his shadows. We weren't two people fighting alongside each other.
We were one weapon with two bodies.
Morgath threw curse after curse at us. Dark spears. Shadow chains. Spells that should have killed us instantly. But our combined magic deflected everything. The twilight power we created together was stronger than her darkness.
"This isn't possible!" she screamed, retreating. "You just bonded! You're untrained! You shouldn't—"
"Shouldn't what?" I called back. "Shouldn't survive? Shouldn't fight back? That's what everyone keeps telling me. I'm done listening."
Theron's hand found mine. The moment we touched, our magic exploded outward in a wave of silver-black light. Morgath screamed as it hit her, sending her flying backward into a tree.
She struggled to stand, blood running from her mouth. For the first time since this fight started, she looked truly afraid.
"The Shadow Covenant will destroy you," she hissed. "There are others. Stronger than me. They'll tear you apart."
"Let them try," Theron said coldly.
Morgath raised her hands for one final spell. Dark energy gathered around her, bigger than anything she'd thrown at us before. "If I can't kill you, I'll take half the kingdom with me. They'll hunt you for the destruction you caused—"
"No!" I threw up a shield of starlight. Theron added his shadow magic to it. Together, we contained Morgath's explosion, trapping it in a sphere of twilight power.
The dark magic fought against our shield. Sweat dripped down my face. My arms trembled. Theron gripped my hand tighter, feeding me strength through our bond.
"We can't hold it forever," he said through gritted teeth.
"We don't have to." I closed my eyes, reaching deep into our connection. "Trust me?"
"Always."
I pulled on every bit of magic we had—mine and his, light and shadow, everything we'd become together. Then I did something crazy.
I absorbed Morgath's dark spell into our twilight magic.
"Celeste, what are you—"
The explosion reversed, flowing into me instead of out. But it didn't hurt. The twilight magic transformed it, changed it, made it ours.
When I opened my eyes, Morgath was gone. Vanished. Only scorch marks remained where she'd stood.
"Did we kill her?" I whispered.
"I don't know." Theron pulled me close. Through our bond, I felt his relief, his fear, his love. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm—"
A sound cut me off. Slow clapping.
We spun around.
A man stepped out of the shadows. Tall, handsome, with silver hair and eyes that glowed with unnatural light. He wore robes marked with symbols that made my head hurt to look at.
"Magnificent," he said, smiling. "Simply magnificent. Morgath said you were strong, but I didn't believe her. I should have."
"Who are you?" Theron demanded, pulling me behind him.
"Where are my manners?" The man bowed mockingly. "I am Lord Daemon Shadowmere, Leader of the Shadow Covenant." His smile widened. "And I'm here to make you an offer you can't refuse."
"We're not interested," I said.
"Oh, but you will be." Daemon's eyes locked onto mine. "Especially when you learn the truth about your precious grandmother. About why she really wanted you two to bond." He tilted his head. "Tell me, did she mention she was one of us? That she helped create the Shadow Covenant before she betrayed us?"
The world stopped.
"You're lying," Theron growled.
"Am I?" Daemon pulled out a photograph. Even from a distance, I recognized the woman in it—younger, but unmistakably my grandmother. She stood beside a group of people in Shadow Covenant robes, smiling.
"She spent twenty years with us," Daemon continued. "Learning our secrets. Planning the ritual to break the Veil. She was our most powerful member." He paused. "Until she stole our most important artifact and vanished."
My head spun. "What artifact?"
Daemon's smile turned predatory. "The one inside you, dear Celeste. The Crystal Heart—the key to breaking the Veil. Your grandmother didn't just teach you magic. She planted the most dangerous weapon in existence inside your soul." He took a step closer. "And when it activates, you won't be able to stop yourself from destroying everything you love."
"No," I whispered.
"Yes." Daemon's eyes gleamed. "The bonding accelerated it. I give you three days before the Crystal Heart takes over completely." He turned to leave, then paused. "When it does, you'll understand why joining us is your only option. We're the only ones who can remove it without killing you."
He vanished into shadows.
I stood frozen, Theron's hand still gripping mine. Through our bond, I felt his shock, his anger, his fear.
"He's lying," Theron said firmly. "Your grandmother would never—"
"What if he's not?" I looked at him, tears burning my eyes. "What if there's something inside me that could hurt you? That could destroy everything?"
Before Theron could answer, pain exploded in my chest.
I screamed, falling to my knees. It felt like something was hatching inside my heart, trying to claw its way out.
Theron caught me, but through our bond, I felt him gasp. He felt my pain. All of it.
"Celeste, look at me—"
But I couldn't. Because when I looked down at my chest, I saw it.
A crystal glow beneath my skin. Pulsing. Growing.
Getting stronger with every heartbeat.