Selene's lips burned.
The dream had been too vivid—too real. Velkar's mouth on hers, cold shadow and wild flame entwined, had left behind a taste she could not forget. It hadn't been just a kiss. It was a claim. His whispers still coiled through her veins, tempting, promising, corrupting.
And the most dangerous truth of all?
She had enjoyed it.
Her breath hitched as she jolted awake, flames sparking from her palms as though to burn away the shame. The cavern around her was silent—shadows flickering against jagged stone—yet inside her chest raged a storm she could not quell.
Why didn't I resist him sooner? Why did I want more?
Her heart betrayed her with its wild rhythm, echoing the memory of his phantom touch. She clenched her fists until her own fire seared her skin, but the trembling would not stop.
"You're trembling."
The Beast's voice rumbled from the darkness—steady, low, and far too close. He had been watching.
Selene stiffened, anger surging to mask her guilt. "It was nothing."
Golden eyes pierced the dark, unblinking. "It was not nothing. You smell of him."
Her chest constricted. She wanted to deny it, but the bond between them was too sharp, too unforgiving. He could sense the corruption curling beneath her skin.
"Stay out of my mind," she snapped.
"I do not need to enter it," he said, stepping forward until his presence swallowed her firelight. His tone softened, stripped of iron and threat. "You are stronger than his whispers. Anchor yourself… here."
He reached for her, his fingers brushing her wrist. The touch was fleeting—barely a breath—but her flames faltered, steadied, calmed. Her body betrayed her again, leaning into him when she should have pulled away.
Damn him. Damn both of them.
Before she could speak, the earth convulsed. A distant roar shook the cavern, followed by the thunder of countless feet. Shadows seeped through cracks in the stone, rising in monstrous forms—Velkar's army.
The Beast moved first, shadows erupting from his body like black wings. Selene's flames surged in answer, swirling into a crown of gold around her head. Together they advanced as the swarm poured in.
The first wave struck—creatures of smoke and ember, their molten eyes blazing with malice. Selene's fire carved through them, but they reformed instantly, snarling, lunging again. The Beast tore one apart with his claws, shadows flaring like a storm unleashed.
"Left!" he barked, and she spun without hesitation, her flames lashing out. Fire met shadow, bursting in a rain of sparks.
Their movements intertwined—instinctive, precise. When he advanced, she retreated; when she rose, he crouched. Their rhythm was seamless, dangerous—more like a dance than a battle. Each breath they took was shared, every strike echoing the pulse of something far more perilous: desire.
She hated how natural it felt.
"Focus," the Beast growled, reading her thoughts too easily.
"I am," she shot back, but her voice trembled.
The second wave came—larger, darker. Hulking beasts with horns wreathed in smoke, their flesh thick as iron. Selene unleashed a torrent of flame, the cavern igniting like a furnace, but still they charged. The Beast leapt onto one, claws sinking deep into its throat, shadows exploding outward to strangle it. Another lunged at Selene—
Her fire faltered. The image of Velkar's kiss flashed across her mind.
The Beast slammed into her, shielding her from the creature's fangs. He shoved it back with a roar that shook the ground. "Do not let him win inside you!"
Her cheeks burned—not just with fury, but shame. She forced her flames higher, incinerating the beast in a blinding surge that scarred the cavern walls.
But the shadows did not stop. They poured endlessly, filling every crack, pressing them back until—
Silence.
The swarm froze. A ripple passed through them, and then they parted.
Velkar stepped forward.
He was beautiful and terrible, his form wreathed in darkness, his eyes like twin suns of midnight. His smile cut through the gloom like a blade.
"Sister of ruin," he purred, voice smooth as silk over steel. "And my caged brother. What a spectacle you make—fighting side by side like lovers."
Selene's flames flared, defiant. "You'll burn before I ever bow to you."
Velkar's laugh was low, rich, and cold. "Oh, you already have, sweet Selene. Did you not taste it? Did you not crave more?"
Her heart stuttered. He knew.
The Beast stepped between them, shadows coiling protectively. "Your poison has no hold here, Velkar."
Velkar tilted his head, eyes gleaming. "No hold? Then why does she tremble when I speak her name? Why does she dream of me while you stand helpless in the dark?"
Selene's breath hitched. The Beast glanced back, and in that instant, he saw her shame. Pain flashed across his face before he masked it with fury.
Velkar's gaze returned to her. "I offer you freedom, Selene. No chains. No curse. Power unbound. Rule beside me, not beneath him. You were never meant to be the Beast's shadow. You were meant to reign."
He extended his hand. "Choose me."
Selene's chest tightened. The memory of his kiss seared her lips anew. For one terrifying heartbeat, she wanted to reach for him.
The Beast's voice tore through the tension, ragged and desperate. "Do not listen. He twists truth into knives."
Velkar smiled wider. "And yet she listens. She remembers the kiss. She wanted it. She still does."
"Stop," Selene whispered—but the denial felt hollow, fragile.
Velkar's shadows slid closer, brushing against her skin like phantom fingers. "You cannot flee desire, Selene. You are mine. You always were."
The Beast's roar shattered the air, shadows erupting outward in a storm. "Enough!"
Velkar only laughed, his army echoing his mirth. "If you deny me now, so be it. But the truth will rot you from within. And when it does, sister of ruin, you will beg for me."
He raised his hand, and the shadows surged, swallowing the cavern in black fire.
Selene's vision twisted—her flames flickered, struggling against the suffocating dark. Images pierced her mind, not illusions but prophecy.
She saw Lyra.
Her sister stood crowned in ruin, shadows cascading around her like silk. A diadem of flame burned upon her brow, and Selene saw herself kneeling before her—broken, powerless.
Lyra's voice rang through the darkness, cruel and triumphant:
> "I am the true queen."
Selene gasped, stumbling back as the vision scorched her mind. The Beast caught her before she fell, his arms steady even as fury burned in his eyes.
When the shadows cleared, Velkar was gone. Only the echo of his laughter lingered, staining the air.
Selene's flames guttered low. The vision clung to her like a curse—Lyra, alive, crowned, victorious.
The Beast gripped her arm. "What did you see?"
Her lips trembled. She wanted to lie—but the truth slipped out, cold and small as a dying ember.
"My sister."