chapter17
1426 Words
Kael’s arm tightened around her as if by holding her close, he could anchor her against what she’d just done. Her heartbeat hammered against his chest, too fast, too uneven, but it was proof—she was still alive. Still his.
But Lilah wasn’t looking at him. Her gaze was fixed on the tower’s shadow, on the place where the Forsaken had stood like a ghost. Her throat worked once before she rasped, “He’s not gone.”
“I know,” Kael said grimly. “But you closed it. You did what none of us could.”
Her hands trembled against his chest. “Not enough. That was only one fissure. He’s going to tear open the whole world until the Moon falls.”
The words landed like stones. Around them, the surviving soldiers staggered back into formation, wolves shifting from bloodied half-shapes to human faces, sweat and soot streaking their skin. The air stank of ash and iron, of something fouler beneath.
One of the captains approached, eyes wide. “My lord, the fissure’s gone, but—” He glanced upward. “—the Moon hasn’t stopped.”
Kael forced himself to stand straighter, dragging Lilah gently with him. Every instinct screamed to take her somewhere safe, to shield her from the pull of that bleeding sky, but safety didn’t exist anymore. Not while the Forsaken still walked.
His voice was steady, commanding, though the weight in it scraped at his bones. “Pull back the wounded. Form defensive lines at the citadel gates. No one fights alone. Spread word—we face a greater tide coming.”
The captain saluted, relief flickering in his eyes at the clarity of orders, and sprinted away.
Kael turned to Lilah. Her fire had dimmed, but her eyes still carried that glow—the dangerous, breathtaking shimmer that marked her as something no longer just mortal. And yet she looked breakable in a way that cut him deeper than any blade.
“You shouldn’t have taken it all on yourself,” he said quietly.
She laughed, a raw, humorless sound. “What choice was there? Let it spread? Let him win?”
His hands cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. “You don’t get to decide the war ends with you. You hear me? Not while I still breathe.”
Her eyes softened, just for a heartbeat, before darting skyward again. The cracks across the Moon pulsed, silver lightning spidering wider, faster, as though time itself had begun to unravel.
And then the sound came.
A whisper.
Every soldier froze as it rolled over them—not loud, but inescapable, like silk dragging over skin. The voice wasn’t spoken aloud, yet it vibrated in their bones.
“Children of earth… bow.”
Several wolves dropped to their knees instantly, clutching their heads. Others screamed as shadows writhed from their mouths and eyes, twisting their bodies into unnatural shapes.
Kael’s sword was in his hand before he realized he’d drawn it. “Lilah—”
“I feel it.” Her voice was a strained whisper. “He’s not calling to them. He’s… inside them.”
“Then burn it out.”
Her head whipped toward him. “If I push like that again, Kael, I might not come back.”
His jaw clenched. The thought of losing her—after everything—was unthinkable. But the wolves were falling, one after another, their bodies jerking under invisible strings. Already, half their line was crumbling.
Kael grabbed her hand, pressing it against his chest, over the steady hammer of his heart. “Then I’ll bring you back. Every time. Burn it out.”
Something fierce lit in her eyes. Fear, yes—but also trust.
She let go.
Moonfire surged through the courtyard, flooding outward in rings of pale light. Where it touched corrupted wolves, shadows screamed and tore free, writhing into smoke before dissolving. Some soldiers collapsed, breathing hard, alive. Others did not rise at all.
The strain ripped through her. Kael felt it in the way her fingers spasmed against his, in the way her body trembled with each wave. But she didn’t stop.
Not until the last shadow disintegrated into ash.
When it was over, silence fell again, broken only by the ragged breathing of the living. A third of their fighters were gone. Another third too wounded to stand. The Forsaken had stolen their strength without lifting a blade.
Lilah sagged forward, gasping against Kael’s shoulder. “I can’t… I can’t keep fighting him like this.”
His hand threaded into her hair, grounding her. “Then we change the fight.”
Her head lifted just enough to meet his gaze. “How?”
Kael’s eyes flicked upward, toward the bleeding Moon, then back to her. And though the thought clawed at him like poison, he forced the words out.
“We take the fight to him. Wherever he’s drawing that power from—we cut him off at the source.”
The pendant at her chest burned cold, and for the first time, Lilah didn’t fight the pull. She followed it. Her eyes widened.
“I know where he’s going.”
Kael didn’t hesitate. “Then we move before he’s ready.”
Behind them, the Moon cracked louder, echoing like thunder across the ruined city.
And in that sound, Kael knew—they were already out of time.The city groaned as if alive, stone walls trembling under the strain of something unseen. Shattered towers leaned like broken teeth against the bleeding sky, their spires pointing helplessly toward the cracking Moon above. The scent of smoke clung to everything—burnt stone, scorched fur, blood.
Kael lifted his head, scanning the survivors. Their eyes held fear, but also that fragile thread of defiance he needed them to keep. He couldn’t let them see hesitation—not now.
“Captain Veyr!” he barked.
The captain stumbled back into view, his arm bound in a makeshift sling, his face streaked with soot. “My lord.”
“Secure the gates. Barricade the inner wards. The Forsaken wants chaos—we’ll give him order.” His gaze swept over the battered soldiers. “No one flees. No one breaks. You are the line until I return.”
The words rippled through them, hesitant at first, then solidifying like iron. Wolves straightened, shifting their weight, gripping their weapons tighter. They were broken, yes—but not finished.
Beside him, Lilah swayed. Kael caught her elbow before she could fall, feeling the residual heat of the Moonfire still simmering beneath her skin. She should have been resting, healing, anything but standing. Yet her chin lifted, defiance carved into every line of her.
Her voice was low, roughened from strain. “He’s going to the Hollow Sanctum.”
Kael’s blood iced. “That place was sealed centuries ago.”
“Sealed doesn’t mean forgotten,” she whispered. Her hand lifted, brushing over the pendant that pulsed faintly, as though answering a voice only she could hear. “He’s drawing from the first fracture—the place where the Moon’s light was bound to earth. If he unseals it…”
Her words trailed off, but the terror in her eyes was enough.
The world wouldn’t just bleed. It would break.
Kael’s jaw set. “Then we end this before he unchains it.”
The ground beneath them shuddered, a low rumble rolling outward. In the distance, one of the citadel’s towers split down the middle, collapsing in a spray of dust. The wounded cried out as the shockwave rattled through the courtyard.
There was no time.
Kael sheathed his sword, only to grip Lilah’s hand tighter. “We move now. Just you and me.”
Her eyes widened. “Kael—”
“The army can’t march in this state. They’ll hold what they can, but if we don’t cut him off, none of this will matter.” His voice dropped, hard but desperate. “Trust me.”
Her breath hitched, but she nodded once. “Always.”
Something in Kael’s chest loosened at that single word. Always.
He turned, lifting his head toward the bleeding Moon one last time. The cracks had deepened, each flash of silver lightning spilling more darkness into the sky. The world itself seemed to be unraveling.
He tightened his grip on Lilah’s hand. “Then let’s hunt a god.”
And together, they plunged into the smoke and ruin, toward the Hollow Sanctum, where destiny—and the Forsaken—awaited.
- Writer
