Raina's body ached from the ritual, but it was the silence that chilled her more than the pain.
Lucien lay unconscious on the bloodstained sheets, his chest rising with shallow, uneven breaths. The bond had sealed. The Pact of Eclipse was complete. But it came at a cost.
Every time her power stirred, he flinched even in sleep.
Maeva stood by the window, arms crossed, jaw tight. "You bonded too fast. Too violently. The magic is unbalanced."
Raina's fingers trembled against the mark on her wrist. It pulsed hot, volatile, hungry. "Fix it."
"You can't fix it," Maeva snapped. "You train. You survive it. Or it kills you both."
Raina didn't respond. She just sat by Lucien's side and took his hand.
It was still warm.
She wouldn't lose him. Not again.
The next morning, Lucien stirred, coughing weakly. Raina shot upright.
"You're here," he rasped.
"I never left."
He smiled faintly. "I feel like I'm on fire."
"You are," she said, her voice raw. "We both are."
Training began that night.
But this time, it wasn't swordplay or spellcasting. It was control.
Maeva created a closed arena salt lines, moonstone runes, blood-wrought seals.
"Summon your power," she ordered.
Raina did. And Lucien gasped in pain, his body bowing like a broken bowstring.
"Again," Maeva commanded.
Raina clenched her fists. "He's not ready."
"He never will be. That's the point."
Lucien, pale and shaking, looked up. "I'm fine."
"You're not," she whispered.
He reached for her hand. "But I'm with you."
She held his gaze and tried again.
Hours passed. Power bloomed. Pain struck. But slowly, the current between them began to balance like breath and heartbeat syncing into one rhythm.
But peace never lingered in their world.
Elias returned from the northern watch, his face tight, his tone cold. "The Order has summoned you."
"To what?" Raina asked.
"To prove you're stable. To prove the bond won't destroy him. Or the rest of us."
She clenched her jaw. "And if I fail?"
"They purge you."
The trial was held in the Hall of Moons, beneath mirrored ceilings and a burning sky. Dozens of cloaked figures watched from elevated balconies. Lucien wasn't allowed inside.
Maeva led Raina to the center of the circle. "Whatever you see remember who you are now."
And then the chamber shifted.
Illusions bled from the walls.
Raina saw herself wild-eyed, blood-soaked, cruel. A past version, unbound by love or pain. Power incarnate.
"She will try to consume you," a voice warned. "The only way to win is to destroy her."
Raina didn't move. "I won't."
The illusion lunged.
They fought clashing steel and shadow. Every swing of the blade was a war within her. Her old self screamed of vengeance. Her new self stood her ground.
Until finally, Raina dropped her sword.
"I don't have to kill you," she whispered. "I just have to remember I'm not you anymore."
The vision broke.
The chamber stilled.
Silence followed.
Then the judges bowed their heads.
"You pass."
Lucien met her outside, breath held. "You're okay?"
Raina collapsed into his arms. "For now."
He cupped her face. "Then let me remind you what you're fighting for."
That night, they made love like it was sacred. Not wild. Not desperate. Just… sure.
Every kiss said you're mine. Every touch whispered we made it this far.
Her mark glowed against his skin. And for the first time it didn't burn.
But while they slept, Elias stood in the shadows of the war room, a sealed vial in his hand.
A failsafe. A betrayal.
A choice.
And when he walked toward the council chamber, he didn't hesitate.