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Chapter 5 - The Arrival

Thaddeus's POV

I shifted mid-charge, bones cracking as I became human again.

The Feral King was massive—twice the size of normal corrupted dogs. His red eyes locked onto mine as his pack swarmed toward the cabin from all sides.

"DEFENSIVE POSITIONS!" I roared at my men who'd finally caught up. "PROTECT THE CIVILIANS!"

But we were overwhelmed five to one. Lyanna's troops had already scattered, her soldiers retreating to save themselves. Cowards.

A Feral jumped through the broken window. I grabbed it mid-air and snapped its neck, throwing the body away. Two more replaced it instantly.

"Dante!" I shouted. "Get them out of here!"

"The tunnel collapsed when Ember's power exploded!" Dante's shadows lashed out, cutting down three Ferals at once. "We're trapped!"

Rowan pressed herself against the wall, holding our unconscious daughter tight. Our eyes met across the chaos, and something clicked into place inside me. Something that had been broken for four years suddenly felt whole.

This was my home. Mine to protect. Mine to die for if necessary.

The Feral King stalked through the opening, too big to fit easily. He had to crouch. Up close, I could see the Nightborne markings still obvious under his corrupted fur.

"I know you," I said, fear dawning. "You're Malachi Nightborne. My father's brother. You disappeared thirty years ago."

The Feral King's lips pulled back in that hideous smile. "Nephew. How you've grown."

My uncle. The Feral King was my uncle—the brother who'd gone mad trying to save his dying mate from corruption. The one everyone said had died bravely in battle.

"You let yourself be corrupted," I breathed. "Why?"

"Because the old texts promised Eclipse magic could cure anything," Malachi growled. "I needed that power to save my beloved. But the ritual needed three anchor points, and I only had two. I've been stuck in this form for thirty years, waiting for the third anchor to be born." His red eyes fixed on Ember. "And now she's finally here."

"You can't have her," Rowan said furiously.

Malachi laughed, the sound scraping like broken glass. "I don't need permission, little doctor. I'll rip her from your arms and suck every drop of her Eclipse blood. Then finally—FINALLY—I'll be free of this curse."

He lunged.

I threw myself in front of Rowan and Ember, taking the full force of Malachi's charge. His claws raked across my chest, tearing deep. Pain burst through me, but I held my ground.

"Run!" I shouted at Rowan.

"There's nowhere to run!" she cried back.

Malachi's jaws snapped inches from my face. His breath reeked of death and rot. "You're strong, nephew. But you can't beat me. I've had thirty years to master corruption magic."

He was right. Even in my best state, I couldn't defeat a Feral King. And I was already bleeding, already weakened.

But I didn't need to beat him. I just needed to buy time.

I shifted fully into my wolf, meeting his size as best I could. We crashed together in a mess of claws and fangs. Blood sprayed. Mine. His. I couldn't tell anymore.

Around us, my soldiers fought furiously against the Feral horde. Dante's shadows carved through foes, but even he was tiring. We were losing.

Then Ember's words cut through the chaos—still in that ancient, possessed tone: "THE BINDING DEMANDS BALANCE. THREE THREADS, THREE SACRIFICES. THE FIRST THREAD BURNS NOW."

Golden light burst from her small body again, but this time it was different. Targeted. A beam of pure Eclipse magic shot from Ember's hands and slammed into Malachi.

The Feral King screamed—actually screamed—as the light burned through his rot. For a short moment, I saw my uncle's true face underneath the monster. Saw the man he'd been before desperation killed him.

"No!" Malachi howled. "I was so close! So close to being free!"

The Eclipse light consumed him fully. When it faded, nothing left but ashes.

The other Ferals, feeling their king's death, scattered into the forest with terrified howls.

Silence fell.

I shifted back to human form, my chest heaving. Blood poured from the cuts Malachi had given me. Deep. Maybe deadly.

Ember fell again, her golden glow dying. Dante caught her before she hit the floor.

"She's barely breathing," Dante said, fear in his voice. "Using that much power is killing her."

Rowan rushed to them both, her healing hands glowing. But I could see the light flickering, fading. "I can't—my power isn't strong enough. She used too much energy."

"The binding," I said, stumbling forward. My legs felt weak. "Ember said three sacrifices. Malachi was the first."

Dante's face went white. "No. The oracle said the strongest thread must fall. That's you, Thaddeus."

"I know." I looked at my daughter—this beautiful little girl I'd only just met. "She needs more power to survive. The bond can transfer life force, right?"

"Don't." Rowan's eyes filled with tears. "Don't you dare."

But I'd already made my choice. The moment I saw Ember in danger, I knew what I had to do.

I knelt beside my daughter and put my hand on her chest, right over her heart. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for your first four years, little one. But I can be here for this."

"Thaddeus, stop!" Dante grabbed my shoulder. "If you die, the binding kills all three of us!"

"Not if I do it right." I looked at Rowan, memorizing her face. "The Eclipse bond transfers life force. If I give mine to Ember before I die, it stabilizes the circuit. You and Dante live. Ember survives. That's all that matters."

"No!" Rowan grabbed my face in her hands. "I won't let you do this. Not after I just got you back. Not after four years of—"

"Four years of me failing you," I interrupted softly. "Let me do this one thing right."

Golden light began flowing from my chest into Ember's. I could feel my life force draining away, pouring into my daughter. It hurt worse than any wound I'd ever gotten.

But Ember's breaths steadied. Her color returned. Her heartbeat grew stronger.

"Daddy?" she whispered, her eyes fluttering open—grey now, not gold. "Why does your thread look like it's breaking?"

"Because I love you, little flame," I said, my vision starting to blur. "And sometimes love means letting go."

My troops burst through the door, finally regrouping after the Feral attack. Lieutenant Graves saw what I was doing and went pale. "Commander, no!"

But it was too late. I'd already given too much. My body was shutting down.

I fell sideways. Rowan caught me, holding my head in her lap.

"Stay with me," she begged. "Please, Thaddeus. Stay."

"I searched four years for you," I whispered. "Finally found you. Finally met our daughter. That's enough. That's—"

My words cut off as pain burst through my chest. Not from Malachi's wounds. This was different. Deeper.

The blood-bond with Lyanna.

I'd forgotten about it in the chaos. But now I felt it pulling tight, burning like acid through my veins.

Rowan's face swam above me. "What's happening to him?"

Dante checked my pulse, his face grim. "The blood-bond. When Thaddeus gives away his life force, it violates the bond's rules. Lyanna can trigger a kill clause."

As if called by her name, Lyanna's voice echoed from outside:

"Did you really think I'd let you die a hero's death, husband? Did you think I'd let you sacrifice yourself for your precious doctor and bastard child?"

She appeared in the doorway, her silver eyes blazing with anger. In her hand, she held a dagger that glowed with dark power.

"That blood-bond ties your life to mine," Lyanna said bitterly. "If you die, I should die too. But I've learned how to twist the magic. How to make it move only one way." She smiled. "Instead of you dying, Thaddeus—I'm going to drain your life force into myself. All that Eclipse power you're giving away? It becomes mine."

Dante lunged at her, but Lyanna was faster. She drove the dagger into the ground, and dark red magic burst outward.

I screamed as I felt my life force—and Ember's Eclipse power—begin flowing away from my daughter and into Lyanna instead.

"NO!" Rowan's healing light flared desperately, trying to stop the drain.

But Lyanna just laughed. "It's too late. By dawn, I'll have consumed both the Commander's power and the Eclipse Child's abilities. I'll be unstoppable."

My vision went dark around the edges. I could feel Ember weakening again as Lyanna stole the power I'd given her.

Dante's voice sounded far away: "There's only one way to break a corrupted blood-bond."

"What way?" Rowan demanded.

"The person who created the bond has to die," Dante said. "We have to kill Lyanna. Now. Before she drains them both."

But Lyanna had thirty soldiers beh

ind her, all armed and loyal.

And we were bleeding, tired, and out of time.

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