The Eve
999 Words
Chapter Thirteen
The fortress held its breath.
It was the eve of the ceremony, and every corridor pulsed with the tension of what was to come. Torches burned brighter than usual, their flames fed with oil until shadows quivered against the walls like restless spirits. Guards stood double at every post, armor polished to a mirror sheen. Even the servants whispered less, moving quickly as though silence itself had been commanded by Kael. And at the heart of it all, Seraphina waited.
She sat on the edge of her bed, hands folded neatly in her lap, her hair braided with strands of silver ribbon the way the court had demanded. The streaks of moonlight in her hair glimmered even without the torchlight, impossible to hide, impossible to deny. The mark of the Moon Goddess had revealed itself to everyone and now, she was no longer just Kael’s intended.
She was his prize. The chamber door opened with a creak, and Elsa slipped inside, face pale, hands clutching the folds of her skirts as though holding herself together. Her eyes darted to the guards posted outside before she shut the door quickly.
“They’ve started preparing the Great Hall,” she said, voice barely a whisper.
Seraphina’s chest tightened. “For tonight?”
Elsa nodded. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “He moved it forward. He doesn’t trust the moon. He doesn’t trust you. He wants to seal it before anything… interferes.”
Seraphina’s fingers curled in her lap. Ember stirred restlessly inside her, pacing against her ribs like a caged predator.
“If he marks you tonight, Sera,” Elsa whispered, stepping closer, “not even the Moon Goddess will be able to reach you. Do you understand? It will be done. Forever.”
The words landed like ice. For a long moment, Seraphina said nothing. Her face remained calm, composed, the perfect captive. But her heart roared inside her chest, each beat a hammer against her ribs.
She thought of the dream the silver forest drenched in red moonlight, the white wolf standing across from the beast cloaked in fire and shadow. He is not your enemy. But he will test your soul. The Moon Goddess’s voice had lingered like an echo in her veins even after waking.
Was this the test? To resist Kael or to endure him? She rose slowly, smoothing the folds of her dress. “Then it will not happen.”
Elsa blinked, startled. “Sera—”
Seraphina lifted her chin, and for the first time, Elsa saw not the girl who had been beaten, humiliated, and locked away, but something else. Something dangerous. Her silver-streaked hair caught the firelight, glowing faintly, as though her very blood remembered the sky.
“I’ll burn before I let him claim me,” Seraphina said softly.
Elsa’s lips trembled. She wanted to argue to plead with her to stay silent, to survive but before she could, the sharp clang of footsteps echoed down the corridor. Heavy. Commanding.
The chamber door swung open without a knock. Kael filled the doorway in his black cloak, broad shoulders cutting a figure too large for the narrow frame. His eyes swept over Elsa first, dismissing her with a glance, before settling on Seraphina.
“You’re ready,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
Seraphina dipped her head slightly. Silent. Still.
Kael’s lips curved faintly, but it wasn’t warmth. It was possession. He stepped forward, and Elsa dropped into a curtsy so low her knees nearly brushed the floor. Kael didn’t acknowledge her. His attention was fixed entirely on Seraphina.
“Tonight,” he said, his voice carrying the weight of command, “you become mine.”
Her pulse stuttered, but outwardly she didn’t move. Kael’s gaze lingered on her hair, the silver strands glimmering like frost. His jaw flexed. “The Moon Goddess herself marks you as rare. As power. You should be grateful I allow you to stand beside me. Any other Alpha would have bound you long ago.”
Still she said nothing. Kael’s hand rose, fingers brushing her jaw. To any watching eyes, it was a caress. To Seraphina, it was a shackle, his grip pressing until it bordered on pain.
“Smile tonight,” he murmured. “Bow your head. Accept your place. And when I mark you, the world will know you are mine.”
Her eyes flicked up just for a second. A spark. Enough for him to see. Enough for him to realize she hadn’t broken.
Kael’s smile faded. His hand dropped.
He straightened, cloak whispering against the floor. “You will learn,” he said at last, voice colder than stone. “Willingly, or with force.”
With that, he turned and strode from the room, the door slamming behind him with a finality that rattled the walls. The silence that followed was suffocating. Elsa remained bowed, trembling, until Seraphina touched her shoulder gently.
“He thinks he’s already won,” Seraphina whispered. Her voice was calm, but Ember’s growl rumbled beneath it. “But tonight isn’t his victory.”
Elsa looked at her in fear and something else. Awe.
Far beyond the fortress walls, in the dark belly of the rogue lands, Lucien moved like a shadow between trees, James at his side. The witch Ora walked behind them, her staff tapping softly against the roots.
“The ceremony begins tonight,” she crooned, her voice like smoke. “If you wait, the girl will be lost. Marked. Bound forever.”
Lucien’s eyes glowed faintly in the dark, molten and unyielding.
“She won’t be lost,” he said. His tone was a vow, heavy enough to bend the night around him. “Not to him.”
The witch’s smile widened. “Then strike, Hellborn. Strike before the moon is stolen.”
Above, thunder rolled across the heavens, and the first silver edge of the rising moon cut through the clouds.
The night had come. And so had the war.
- Writer
