The Veil had cracked behind them.
Kael and Aria stood on the brink of a dying realm as the shadows twisted and screamed, collapsing into themselves. Kael's dark wolf form shimmered away, leaving him bare-chested and bruised, golden eyes dulled by exhaustion. Aria, her red hair flowing like wildfire in the wind, still pulsed with residual light from her transformation. The runes on her skin flickered, slowly fading.
But the damage wasn't done. Not yet.
The moment their feet touched solid ground on the other side of the portal, they staggered forward—into silence. The air was cold. Too cold.
They were back in the old ruins near Silverfen's edge. But something had changed.
Aria collapsed to her knees. Her body trembled violently. Kael rushed to her side, gathering her into his arms.
"You shouldn't have followed me," she whispered.
He held her tighter. "I would cross a thousand Veils for you."
Her laugh was soft, broken. "And yet you didn't trust me when it mattered most."
Kael stiffened.
She looked up at him. Her red hair stuck to her face, her eyes glowing faintly with moonlight. "You believed Karis. You looked at me and didn't see me. You saw a threat."
"I—I was scared."
"Of me?" she whispered.
He had no answer.
A tense silence passed. Then she stood, swaying slightly.
"We have to go. They'll be looking for us."
"We're not finished."
She shook her head. "We are. For now."
---
Back in the Stormfang stronghold, chaos had bloomed.
Nyla stood before the war council, her face pale. "They've returned," she said. "But something's wrong. Aria's… different."
Raekon looked up from the map, frowning. "What do you mean?"
"She doesn't speak much. She looks through people. Like she's… not fully here."
Lyra paced furiously. "We should have gone after them. We waited too long."
"The Whisperer's power isn't broken," Raekon said. "He's regrouping. The eclipse is nearing. If Aria unlocked something, he'll try again. Stronger."
"And what about Kael?"
Nyla hesitated. "He's quiet. Angry at himself, mostly. I've never seen him look so lost."
---
Aria stood alone at the edge of the stronghold cliffs, red hair whipping in the wind. The stars above shimmered eerily. Something stirred in the darkness beneath them.
Karis's words still haunted her: He doubted you. You cried his name.
She had. Until her voice broke.
"You're not sleeping again," came a voice.
She turned. Lyra.
"No," Aria replied softly.
The archer stepped beside her. "Kael's tearing himself apart."
Aria didn't reply.
"You still love him."
"That's the problem."
---
Meanwhile, Kael stood in the war room, alone. Maps littered the walls. Candlelight flickered. His mind echoed with the Whisperer's words:
She belongs to me now.
"No," Kael whispered. "She belongs to no one."
Suddenly, Raekon entered, looking grim. "There's something you need to see."
He led Kael through the corridors into the old armory. Inside, etched into the stone floor with fresh blood, was a symbol.
A black moon.
"She's marked," Raekon said. "The Whisperer didn't just torture her. He bound her."
Kael's stomach dropped. "Can it be undone?"
"Not unless she breaks it herself."
Kael's jaw clenched. "Then we train. We fight. Whatever she needs—"
Raekon interrupted. "That's not enough. He left something inside her."
"What?"
"A shadow. A voice."
---
In her room, Aria clutched her head.
The voice whispered again.
Let go, Lunaria.
They will betray you again.
You are power. You are moonfire. You don't need him.
Her eyes flashed white. The air sparked. The mirror across the room shattered. Her runes flared.
Kael burst in, blade in hand. "Aria!"
She turned on him, wild-eyed. Her red hair swirled around her like a crown of flame. "Don't come closer."
He dropped the blade. "It's me."
"You think I don't know that? That's why it hurts."
"I'll fix it."
"You can't." She took a shaky breath. "You didn't believe me. And now the thing inside me—it remembers. It whispers your name like poison."
He stepped forward, slow. "Then let me fight it. With you."
For a heartbeat, she let him hold her.
Then she vanished.
He spun around, heart racing—but she was gone.
"Aria!"
---
The stronghold erupted with search parties. Lyra cursed. Nyla shouted orders. Raekon muttered ancient tracking spells. But she was gone. Not a trace.
Kael stood by the cliff where she had last been seen. He dropped to his knees.
"I doubted you. And now I've lost you."
Behind him, a message scrawled in the dirt by wind and moonlight:
I have to do this alone.
---
Far beyond the realm of wolves and witches, Aria walked alone through a forest of silver trees. Her red hair glowed in the moonlight. The runes on her arms pulsed in time with her heart.
She was going to find the answer.
She was going to break the shadow.
Even if it killed her.
To be continued ...