CHAPTER 13
1517 Words
The Bond
“DO NOT BREAK THE BOND.”
Kael's father's words followed them through the corridor.
Aurelia ran.
Kael's hand remained wrapped around hers.
Behind them, the palace shook violently.
Stone crashed from the ceiling.
Aurelia looked over her shoulder.
The darkness was spreading.
Not like smoke.
Like something alive.
“Faster!” Kael shouted.
“I am!”
A c***k split the floor in front of them.
Aurelia stumbled.
Kael pulled her toward him.
The silver thread between them flashed.
For one impossible second, the darkness stopped.
It recoiled.
Aurelia stared.
“Kael.”
“I saw it.”
“The bond stopped it.”
He nodded.
“So your father was telling the truth.”
Kael's expression darkened.
“That doesn't mean I trust him.”
They reached the end of the passage.
A stone door stood ahead.
Kael pushed it.
Nothing.
“It's locked.”
Aurelia stepped forward.
The crescent pendant around her neck began glowing.
“Move.”
Kael stepped aside.
Aurelia placed her hand against the door.
The stone immediately turned silver.
A pulse of energy traveled through the walls.
Then the door opened.
They stumbled into the ruins outside.
Cold night air hit Aurelia's face.
She turned.
The stone passage collapsed behind them.
Rowan emerged moments later, covered in dust.
“Everyone alive?”
Aurelia nodded.
Kael looked behind them.
His father was gone.
Aurelia noticed.
“Where is he?”
Kael's jaw tightened.
“I don't know.”
“You're not going after him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if he wanted us dead, we wouldn't be standing here.”
Aurelia looked at him.
“You trust him.”
“No.”
“Then why—”
“Because I don't know what he is anymore.”
Aurelia fell silent.
That answer sounded painfully familiar.
They began walking through the ruins.
Neither spoke.
The silver bond remained visible between them.
Aurelia kept staring at it.
Finally, she asked,
“Why does it protect me?”
Kael looked at the thread.
“I don't know.”
“Your father said the Moonfire can't take me while we're bonded.”
“Yes.”
“Then what happens if the bond breaks?”
Kael stopped walking.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying again.”
“I've never broken a Moon Bond.”
“Neither have I.”
He looked at her.
“But I know what happens when one person tries to reject it.”
Aurelia's stomach tightened.
“What?”
“The bond fights back.”
She frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Kael hesitated.
“It means it can hurt both people.”
Aurelia looked away.
“So we're trapped.”
“No.”
“You just said—”
“We're connected.”
“That's a nicer word for trapped.”
Kael's expression softened.
“Aurelia…”
She turned.
“What?”
“I don't want you to think you're trapped with me.”
Her anger faded slightly.
“I don't know what I want to think.”
“I know.”
They continued walking.
Then Rowan suddenly stopped.
“Wait.”
Aurelia turned.
“What?”
Rowan pointed toward the valley.
A light was moving between the ruins.
One.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Kael's hand went to his sword.
“Guards.”
Rowan shook his head.
“No.”
The figures emerged from the shadows.
They were wolves.
But not ordinary wolves.
Their fur shimmered silver beneath the moonlight.
Their eyes were glowing.
And every one of them was staring at Aurelia.
She stepped backward.
“Who are they?”
Kael's face changed.
“The Moon Guard.”
Rowan looked at him.
“They shouldn't still exist.”
One of the wolves stepped forward.
It lowered its head.
Then another did the same.
Soon, every wolf in the valley had bowed.
Aurelia stared.
“Why are they bowing to me?”
Kael looked at her.
“I think they know who you are.”
Aurelia shook her head.
“No.”
A voice came from behind them.
“Yes.”
They turned.
A woman stood on the broken steps of the palace.
She wore a silver cloak.
Her hair was white.
Her eyes were the same silver-gray as Aurelia's.
Aurelia's heart skipped.
“Who are you?”
The woman smiled.
“My name is Elara.”
She descended the steps.
“And I have been waiting for you.”
Kael stepped forward.
“Stay away from her.”
Elara's gaze moved to him.
Then to the silver bond.
Her expression changed.
“You bonded with him.”
Aurelia stiffened.
“You know what this is?”
Elara nodded.
“I know exactly what it is.”
“Then tell me.”
Elara looked toward the palace.
“The Moon Bond between your bloodline and his was created centuries ago.”
Aurelia's eyes widened.
“What?”
Kael's face hardened.
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
Elara looked at him.
“Your ancestors swore an oath to protect hers.”
Kael stared.
“My family betrayed Seraphine.”
“Some did.”
Elara's eyes darkened.
“Others tried to keep the oath.”
Aurelia looked between them.
“Then why was Kael's father involved?”
Elara didn't answer.
Instead, she looked at Kael.
“Because your father discovered what the oath was really protecting.”
Kael's voice became quiet.
“What?”
Elara looked at Aurelia.
“Not the Moonfire.”
Aurelia's heart began pounding.
“Then what?”
Elara stepped closer.
“You.”
Silence.
Aurelia shook her head.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
Elara reached toward Aurelia's pendant.
Kael immediately stepped between them.
Elara smiled.
“You're protective.”
“He has every reason to be.”
Kael's expression hardened.
“Tell us the truth.”
Elara's smile disappeared.
“The Moonfire isn't inside Aurelia.”
Aurelia's breath caught.
“Then where is it?”
Elara pointed toward her chest.
“It is bound to her soul.”
Aurelia froze.
“That can't be.”
“It can.”
Elara's voice softened.
“Your ancestors didn't inherit the Moonfire.”
“They were its prison.”
Aurelia's heart raced.
“What happens if the prison breaks?”
Elara looked toward the palace.
“The First Moonborn is released.”
Kael's expression changed.
“And what happens then?”
Elara looked at him.
“The Seven Realms fall.”
Aurelia swallowed.
“Then why does the Moonfire want me?”
Elara's eyes met hers.
“Because it doesn't want to escape.”
She paused.
“It wants to be born.”
Aurelia felt cold spread through her body.
“What does that mean?”
Elara looked at the silver bond.
“It means the Moonfire needs two things.”
Aurelia waited.
“Your blood.”
Then Elara looked at Kael.
“And his.”
Kael's face went pale.
Aurelia stared at him.
“The bond…”
Elara nodded.
“Was never created to bring you together.”
Aurelia's stomach dropped.
“It was created to combine your bloodlines.”
Kael slowly looked at the silver thread.
“So the bond is a ritual.”
“Yes.”
“And if we stay bonded…”
Elara's expression became grim.
“The Moonfire will eventually awaken through both of you.”
Aurelia stepped backward.
“No.”
Kael reached for her.
She pulled away.
“Don't touch me.”
“Aurelia—”
“You knew.”
“I didn't.”
“You knew there was something strange about this bond.”
“I knew nothing about this.”
She looked at the silver thread.
Then at him.
“What happens if I reject it?”
Elara's face went pale.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because the bond is already inside your souls.”
Aurelia stared.
“So how do I get rid of it?”
Elara whispered,
“You don't.”
A sudden roar shook the valley.
Every Moon Guard wolf raised its head.
The palace windows exploded outward.
Silver fire erupted from the highest tower.
And a voice echoed across the kingdom.
“Aurelia.”
She froze.
The voice was unmistakable.
Her mother's.
But this time, it wasn't a warning.
It was a command.
“Break the bond.”
Kael's eyes widened.
Elara turned toward the palace in horror.
“No…”
Aurelia looked at her.
“What?”
Elara's face had lost all color.
“That isn't your mother.”
The voice came again.
“Break the bond, Aurelia.”
The silver thread between Aurelia and Kael suddenly tightened.
Kael grabbed her hand.
The palace began to burn with silver fire.
Elara whispered,
“The First Moonborn has found a way to speak through the dead.”
Aurelia looked at Kael.
For the first time, she understood the danger.
Whatever was beneath Seraphine's kingdom didn't just want her blood.
It wanted her trust.
And it was willing to use the face of the person she loved most to get it.
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