The air was alive with whispers.
Kael stood beneath the arch of bone and shadow, the sky above him split between light and endless night. Every breath burned his throat; every heartbeat carried Selene's name.
Darius crouched beside him, silent but shaken. His hands were still stained with blood from the last attack, and though he didn't say it, Kael could feel the guilt radiating off him like heat.
They had crossed into the Realm of the Fallen, a place that should not have existed. The ground was slick with black glass; the trees bled silver sap. The scent of moonfire clung to everything, sharp and intoxicating, and somewhere beyond the forest, something screamed.
Lyra appeared out of the fog like she'd been waiting. Her robes were torn, and her hair hung loose, damp with sweat and shadow. There was something almost beautiful about her even now, sharp, dangerous beauty, the kind that could wound.
"You shouldn't have followed her here," she said, voice low and steady. "This place isn't meant for living blood."
Kael turned, his eyes glowing faintly gold. "You brought us here."
Lyra didn't deny it. "I opened the gate. But you crossed it."
Darius straightened. "Tell us what you know. About the bond. About her."
The sage tilted her head. "You mean Selene?"
Her name hung between them, and for a moment, the air itself seemed to hold its breath.
"The bond you share isn't sacred," Lyra said. "It's sacrilege. It defies every law written in blood and bone. Do you even know what she is?"
Kael stepped forward, his jaw tight. "She's ours."
Lyra smiled, a small, cruel thing. "That's what makes this so tragic."
She lifted her hand, and the air shimmered. A vision appeared between them: Selene, her body suspended in a cage of crystal and light. Her eyes were closed, her skin glowed faintly with lunar veins. Around her, shadowy figures bowed low.
Kael's chest constricted. He could feel her heartbeat through the bond, faint, fluttering, desperate.
"She's bound by the Mark of the Fallen," Lyra said. "Only those of her blood can survive it. But you two…"
Her eyes lingered on Kael. "You will burn from the inside if it's not broken."
Darius looked up sharply. "Then tell us how to break it."
Lyra circled them slowly, like a predator sizing its prey. "You don't break it," she murmured. "You complete it."
Kael frowned. "What does that mean?"
"You've only tasted her power," Lyra said, her voice silken. "The bond you share is incomplete. It's why she's trapped. Why you feel her pain."
She drew closer until Kael could see the faint pulse in her throat. "There's a rite… one older than your kind. If you want to find her, to touch her again, you must offer part of yourselves to the realm."
Darius tensed. "Offer what?"
Lyra's gaze flicked between them, then down to their hands. "Blood," she whispered. "And memory."
Kael's power surged before he could stop it. "You expect us to trust you?"
"You already have," Lyra said softly. "You're here, aren't you?"
The air shifted. Energy rippled through the ground like a pulse. From the trees emerged creatures unlike any they had seen, hybrid beings with silver eyes and fangs, their bodies marked by runes that glowed faintly red.
The Fallen Guardians.
Kael and Darius instinctively went back-to-back. The bond between them sparked, raw and unsteady. The creatures didn't attack. They circled, watching, murmuring in a language that vibrated through the air like thunder.
"They know her," Lyra said, eyes gleaming. "They can sense her in you. The blood of the moon and the curse of night. Selene carries both. She is the key."
Kael felt it then, a pull deep in his chest. It wasn't just emotional. It was physical. His veins burned, and his breath came shorter. He staggered forward, his hand pressed to his chest.
Through the bond, he felt her.
The heat of her skin.
The rush of her breath.
The tremor of her heartbeat beneath his.
Selene.
For an instant, it was as if she was there, whispering against his ear, her hands ghosting over his skin. He felt her fear, her confusion, the weight of her desire and her shame.
It was too much.
Kael groaned, falling to one knee.
Darius was next, his own breath catching as the bond pulsed through him. The energy was wild, tangled, and charged. It wasn't just connection, it was possession.
Lyra watched with narrowed eyes, a flicker of something dark crossing her expression. Jealousy.
"The bond is awakening," she murmured. "Her power is calling to you."
Kael forced himself to his feet, sweat glistening on his skin. "Then tell us how to reach her."
Lyra moved closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Perform the rite."
She raised her dagger, a blade forged from obsidian and bone, and sliced her palm. The blood fell in a perfect circle, glowing faintly as it touched the ground.
"Stand inside the mark," she commanded. "Give the realm what it craves."
Kael stepped into the circle first, Darius beside him. Lyra began to chant, the ancient tongue echoing off the walls of the realm.
The runes flared. The air thickened.
Kael felt his blood ignite. Through the bond, Selene's heartbeat thundered in his chest. It was frantic, desperate. Then, he felt her touch again. The ghost of her fingers against his jaw. Her voice, trembling, saying his name.
He reached out into nothingness.
And felt her.
It wasn't illusion. The bond tore open the veil for a breathless moment, enough for him to see her face, pale, frightened, beautiful.
"Kael…" she whispered.
Darius reached forward instinctively, calling her name, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Then everything shattered.
A scream ripped through the realm, deep and otherworldly. The blood circle exploded in a blaze of light. Kael staggered backward, grabbing Darius before they both fell.
Lyra stumbled out of the smoke, clutching her chest, eyes wide with awe. "It's done…" she breathed. "You've marked yourselves."
Kael looked down. On his palm, the sigil burned, a crescent entwined with a serpent. Darius had the same mark, pulsing faintly with light.
Then…
The air split open.
The scream came again, closer this time. The sky above them cracked like glass, spilling a torrent of red and black flame.
And through it, she came.
At first, Kael thought it was Selene, her hair wild, her eyes glowing silver. But then she smiled, and the expression was wrong. Too sharp. Too cruel.
Her voice echoed through the dark.
"She belongs to me now."
The world trembled.
The mark on Kael's hand flared, burning deep into his flesh.
The alphas dropped to their knees.
Lyra's face went pale.
Kael took one step forward, his voice a snarl.
"What did you do?"
The figure tilted her head, still smiling. "I didn't do anything," she whispered. "You did."
And the realm collapsed into darkness.