The wind screamed through the high cliffs as Celene hovered, darkness swirling around her like an elegant storm. Her black cloak twisted unnaturally, threads of shadow licking the air, drawn to her aura of chaos.
Below her, Aria stood, blood dripping from a shallow cut on her brow, red hair clinging to her damp cheeks, glowing with moonfire. Her transformation had left the earth cracked where she stood, power still humming through her bones.
Kael stepped forward, hand near the hilt of his sword. "This is between me and Aria. Step aside, Celene."
Celene's cruel laughter echoed. "Still protecting her, even after she lied to you? After she ran?"
Aria narrowed her eyes. "I didn't run from him. I ran from becoming what you are."
Celene's golden eyes gleamed. "You always thought you were better than me. But we share the same blood—or what's left of it."
"We're not the same," Aria growled.
A flick of Celene's wrist sent a volley of dark daggers flying toward them. Kael jumped in front of Aria, shifting mid-air into his enormous, dark-furred wolf form—massive, primal, his fur black as the void.
The daggers struck his flank but bounced off his thick hide. He landed with a snarl, crouched between Aria and Celene, growling deep and low.
Aria reached out, brushing her fingers against Kael's fur. Her power pulsed with his. Their bond, though frayed, still sparked.
Celene hissed and descended slowly, heels touching the ground like a queen claiming her throne. "I tried to be patient. Tried to be loved. But it was always her they looked at. Her they praised. So I carved my own path—one with power."
"And you sold your soul for it," Aria replied coldly.
Celene's features hardened. "Then let me see what your soul is worth."
With a shriek, Celene summoned a beast of pure darkness—twisted limbs, burning green eyes, and a mouth full of teeth that screamed. It lunged toward Aria.
Kael leapt, slamming into it midair, jaws clamping down on its throat. The force sent them both crashing into a boulder, shattering stone.
Celene turned on Aria.
"You think you're strong now?" she sneered.
Aria's voice was steel. "I know I am."
With a cry, Aria raised both hands, summoning twin blades of silver light. She charged.
Their powers clashed—moonlight and shadow, flame and ice, fury and jealousy. The forest trembled under their storm.
Kael battled the beast in brutal silence. He bled, but he never stopped. Every strike was for Aria. Every breath, a vow to find her again—fully, completely.
Aria and Celene's battle spilled into the air, their bodies rising with their magic. Aria's wings glowed, Celene's cloak frayed and frenzied.
"You never deserved the name Vale!" Celene shrieked.
"I made it mine!" Aria shouted back, striking Celene with a burst of moonfire that sent her tumbling to the ground.
Celene landed hard, coughing, her pendant cracked.
The dark beast vanished. Kael stood panting, bloody but triumphant.
Aria landed beside him.
Celene rose shakily. "This isn't over."
"Run," Aria said. "Before I forget you were once my stepsister."
Celene's face twisted with rage, but she vanished into a plume of smoke.
---
Later that night, Kael sat near a fire, wrapping his side with bandages. Aria sat opposite him, quiet.
He finally broke the silence. "Why didn't you tell me the truth about Valeska?"
Aria met his eyes. "Because you would've stopped me. And I needed answers only she could give."
"You still don't trust me?"
"I trust you with my life," she said. "But not with my fate. Not yet."
He looked down. "Then what are we, Aria?"
She swallowed. "Something still burning. But not a fire we can touch right now."
He nodded slowly. "Then I'll wait. Even if it burns me."
As they sat in uneasy quiet, Nyla approached.
"There's something you need to see," she said.
She handed Aria a letter—crumpled, singed, and sealed in wax bearing the mark of the Whisperer.
Aria's hand trembled as she opened it.
Her face paled.
Kael stood. "What is it?"
She looked up, voice hollow. "They've taken Lyra."
The flames crackled as silence fell.
Aria's red hair glowed like blood under the moonlight.
Kael's eyes darkened. "We get her back," he said. "Together."
---
Before they could move, a small crystal embedded in the letter shimmered to life. A projection bloomed above it—grainy and flickering, but unmistakable.
Lyra was chained in a stone room, bruised but alive. Her voice came through faintly. "Don't come. It's a trap. He wants Aria—only her."
The image vanished. The silence was deafening.
Kael growled. "It's him. The Whisperer."
Aria's hands clenched. "He's making his move."
Nyla tossed a dagger into the fire. "Then we move first."
Aria stood. "No more running. No more hiding. I'm done being hunted."
Kael looked at her, a flicker of awe in his eyes. "Then we hunt them."
The wind outside howled—as if warning them of the battle ahead.
But neither Kael nor Aria flinched.
Together, they stepped into the night, heading toward war.
---
To be continued....