Sera's POV
Sixty seconds!
Mordren's voice cuts through the silence like a knife. Outside, I can see Luna on her knees, chains glowing around her wrists. The Soul render blade rests against her throat, black fire crackling along its edge.
My best friend. The person who saved me countless times. About to die because of me.
We have to surrender, I say immediately.
No. Caspian's voice is hard as stone.
He'll kill her!
He'll kill her anyway. Thorne moves away from the window, his face grim. Mordren doesn't make deals. The moment you step outside, he'll use the Soul render on all three of you.
Then what do we do? I'm shaking, watching Luna's terrified face. We can't just let her die!
Forty-five seconds! Mordren calls cheerfully.
Thorne grabs my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. Listen carefully. There's a passage under this cottage part of the old underground network. It leads to a cave system three miles from here. If you run now, you might escape.
Might? Caspian asks.
The wards will hold them off for maybe five minutes after you're gone. After that... Thorne doesn't finish.
You'll die, I whisper. He'll kill you for helping us.
Thorne smiles sadly. I'm an old man, child. I've lived long enough. But you two? You're the future. The only chance to stop Mordren and free our people.
I won't leave you, Caspian says fiercely. You're my mentor. My
Your friend. I know. Thorne touches Caspian's face gently. And as your friend, I'm telling you to run. Save Sera. Destroy the Altar. Make my sacrifice mean something.
Thirty seconds!
Outside, Luna screams as Mordren presses the blade harder against her skin. Black fire licks at her throat, making her writhe in agony.
I can't watch this. Can't do this.
But Caspian grabs my hand. Sera. We have to go.
Luna
Will die either way! His eyes are burning with tears and fury. But if we stay, we die too. And then Mordren wins. Is that what you want?
No. But leaving Luna feels like tearing out my own heart.
Fifteen seconds!
Go! Thorne pushes us toward a trapdoor hidden under a rug. Run and don't look back. Promise me!
Caspian opens the trapdoor, revealing darkness below. Come with us. Please.
Someone has to hold the wards. Thorne's smile is peaceful. Besides, I have a few tricks left. I might even take some of them with me.
Thorne
GO!
He shoves us both through the trapdoor.
We fall into darkness, landing hard on stone. Above us, the trapdoor slams shut and locks with a sound of finality.
NO! I scream, scrambling back up. THORNE!
But the trapdoor won't open.
And then we hear it the explosion of magic as the wards shatter. Mordren's hunters pour into the cottage. Thorne's voice rises in a battle cry, old but strong.
Then screaming. Fighting. The crash of furniture and walls breaking.
Caspian pulls me away from the trapdoor, into the tunnel. We have to move. Now.
We can't just leave him!
We already have. His voice cracks. Now we honor his sacrifice by surviving.
We run through the dark tunnel, our hands locked together. Behind us, the sounds of battle fade. Either Thorne is winning, or...
I can't think about it.
The tunnel opens into a cave system, just like Thorne promised. We keep running, deeper into the earth, until the darkness is so complete I can't see my own hands.
Finally, Caspian stops. We collapse against the cave wall, both gasping for breath.
Luna, I sob. Thorne. We left them both.
We didn't have a choice.
There's always a choice! I'm crying now, hot angry tears. We could have fought. Could have
Died. Caspian's voice is flat. We would have died, Sera. And for what? To make ourselves feel better about being cowards?
The word hits like a slap.
We're not cowards, I say weakly.
Aren't we? We ran while the people we love faced death alone.
Caspian
My parents ran too, he continues, his voice hollow. When the Temple came for them, they tried to escape. Thorne told me. They didn't stay and fight. They ran. And it didn't save them.
I hear the breaking in his voice, feel it through our mate bond.
This isn't the same, I say gently.
Isn't it? We keep running, Sera. From the Temple. From Mordren. From the truth. When do we stop running and face what we are?
And what are we?
He finally looks at me, and his eyes glow silver in the darkness the same silver as mine.
Monsters, he whispers. Or maybe heroes. I don't know anymore.
We sit in silence, the weight of everything crushing down on us.
Tell me about the Cycle of Chains, I finally say. Thorne started to explain before... before Mordren came. I need to understand what we're fighting.
Caspian is quiet for so long I think he won't answer. Then:
Thousands of years ago, before the Temple existed, wolves lived free. The mate bond was sacred a gift from the Moon Goddess, pure and uncontrollable. But then a dark sorcerer discovered how to weaponized it.
Weaponized love?
He created a spell that could control one half of a bonded pair. And if you control one, you control both. Entire packs fell under his power because he held their mates hostage.
The horror of it makes me sick.
The Temple's founders killed the sorcerer, Caspian continues. But they kept his spell. Built the Binding Altar to channel it. For centuries, they've used it to control wolves through fear obey or lose your mate.
That's why they kill Heretics, I breathe. We can break their weapon.
Yes. Every century, the Moon Goddess marks one wolf with the power to destroy the Altar. Every century, the Temple kills that wolf before they can succeed.
What about my parents? Thorne said they built the Altar, but
They were forced to, Caspian says. Mordren threatened to massacre their entire pack if they didn't use their Heretic powers to strengthen the spell. They chose the lesser evil help him enslave thousands to save hundreds.
And they've regretted it ever since.
According to Thorne, yes. Caspian's hand tightens on mine. Your mother has been trying to destroy the Altar for twenty years. She can't do it alone. She needs you.
Then why hasn't she found me before now?
Because Mordren told her you died as a baby. He kept you apart deliberately, knowing that two Heretics together would be unstoppable.
The pieces start falling into place.
The messenger, I say slowly. Raven. She said I have three days to destroy the Altar or millions die. Is that real? Or is it another of Mordren's tricks?
Thorne believes it's real. Caspian's voice goes grim. The Moon Goddess is losing patience. Every century She gives us a chance to save ourselves, and every century we fail. This might be Her final test.
And if we fail?
She destroys us all. Wipes out every wolf to start fresh.
The weight of it is crushing.
Millions of lives depending on me. On us. And we have three days.
There's something else Thorne didn't tell you, Caspian says quietly. About the Soul render.
The blade Mordren has?
It's not just deadly to Heretics. It's specifically designed to kill you. He looks at me, fear naked in his eyes. One cut anywhere on your body, and your own power consumes you from the inside. There's no defense. No cure. You die screaming within minutes.
Ice floods my veins. How do you know this?
Because I was supposed to carry it. His voice breaks. Three years ago, when I first started hunting you, my uncle gave me the Soul render. Told me to use it when I finally caught you. I... I couldn't. I gave it back, claimed it was too dangerous to carry. But the truth was I couldn't bear the thought of using it on you.
Even three years ago, before he knew me, the mate bond protected me.
We can't let him use it on anyone, I say fiercely.
We won't. But Sera... Caspian cups my face in his hands. Promise me something. If it comes down to itif Mordren corners us and we can't escape promise me you'll run. Even if it means leaving me behind.
No.
Sera
No! I grab his wrists. I've lost everyone I love. My parents. Luna. Thorne. I am NOT losing you too. We survive together or we die together. That's the only option.
That's not practical
I don't care about practical! My voice echoes through the cave. I love you, Caspian. And I'm done running. Done hiding. Done letting Mordren win.
Then what do we do?
I stand, pulling him up with me. We go to the Grand Temple. We find my mother and her army. We destroy the Binding Altar and end the Cycle of Chains once and for all.
In three days.
In three days.
With the entire Temple hunting us, Mordren carrying a weapon designed to kill you, and no plan except 'don't die.'
Exactly.
Despite everything, Caspian laughs. You're insane.
Completely. I kiss him, fierce and desperate and full of promise. But I'm your insane mate. So deal with it.
He kisses me back, and for one moment, everything else fades away.
Then a sound echoes through the cave.
Footsteps. Coming closer.
We pull apart, Caspian's blade already drawn.
A figure emerges from the shadows.
It's Kieran.
But something's wrong. His eyes are glowing silver just like mine, just like Caspian's in moments of strong emotion. And the Heretic's Mark burns on his exposed chest.
Hello, brother, Kieran says to Caspian. His voice sounds wrong. Hollow. Surprised?
Caspian goes white. That's impossible. You're not
Not a Heretic? Not your half-brother? Not the son Mordren had with a Heretic woman before he killed her? Kieran's smile is broken and terrible. Surprise. The High Chancellor has been breeding Heretics for decades, trying to create one he could control. And I'm his greatest success.
He raises his hands, and black fire the opposite of my silver light crackles around them.
I'm here to deliver a message from father, Kieran says. Surrender the girl and he'll let you live, Caspian. You can go back to the Temple. Be his perfect weapon again. All you have to do is give him Sera.
Never, Caspian snarls.
I hoped you'd say that. Kieran's black fire grows brighter. Because I've been waiting three years for an excuse to kill you and take your position. And now I finally have it.
He attacks.