Breaking Chains

Darkness coiled around Selene, wrapping her in a suffocating grip as Vale's magic dragged her deeper into his realm.

Her body felt weightless, floating in an abyss of shadow and cold.

Her mind swam between reality and something else—a dream, a vision, a trap.

Then, suddenly—

Light.

A dim glow pierced through the darkness, and the shadows shuddered, reluctant to let her go.

Selene's eyelids fluttered open.

She was no longer in the corridor.

She lay on a massive, obsidian bed, its sheets smooth as silk but cold as ice. The chamber around her was unlike any she had seen before. The walls pulsed with a strange energy, shifting between dark stone and something alive.

A cage.

Selene sat up, heart pounding as she took in her surroundings.

The only source of light came from the ceiling, where veins of glowing silver stretched like cracks in the stone.

Magic.

And she wasn't alone.

Vale stood near the edge of the room, his back turned as he gazed into what looked like a mirror of swirling shadows. His golden robes shimmered under the eerie light.

Selene didn't wait.

She lunged toward the nearest opening—

But the moment her foot touched the ground, magic slammed into her.

She gasped as a powerful force threw her backward, pinning her against the bed.

Vale sighed. "Did you really think I wouldn't prepare for that?"

Selene gritted her teeth, her muscles straining against the unseen hold.

"I will never stop fighting," she hissed.

Vale finally turned, amusement flickering in his golden eyes. "I know." He took a slow step forward, his presence commanding, effortless. "That's what makes you so…irresistible."

Selene's stomach twisted. "You're delusional."

Vale chuckled. "Perhaps." He lifted a hand, and the shadows released her, though the warning in his gaze was clear—she wouldn't get far.

Selene didn't care.

She glared at him, defiance burning in her veins. "Why are you keeping me here?"

Vale studied her for a long moment. Then, to her surprise, he stepped closer—not with menace, but something softer.

"Because," he said, voice quiet, "you don't know what you are."

Selene stiffened.

Vale continued, his eyes searching hers. "Lucian has told you half-truths. He's hidden things from you, hasn't he?"

Selene clenched her fists. She wouldn't fall for his tricks.

But Vale's next words shook her.

"You think your power is tied to Lucian alone?" he asked. "That fire and ice are all you are?"

Selene's breath caught.

She had never questioned it before. The fire inside her—the connection she shared with Lucian—had always felt natural.

But now…

A whisper of doubt crept in.

Vale's golden gaze burned with certainty. "You are more than that, Selene. And I will prove it to you."

Selene didn't want to believe him.

She couldn't.

But deep inside, something stirred.

Something…unknown.

And it terrified her.

Lucian's Descent Into Madness

Miles away, Lucian rode the storm.

His body moved faster than the wind, leaping from treetop to treetop as the forest blurred beneath him.

Magic crackled around his hands, his rage barely contained. The more distance he covered, the clearer his connection with Selene became.

She was alive.

But she was in pain.

Lucian clenched his jaw, pushing himself harder.

He wasn't alone.

Behind him, Darius and Astrid struggled to keep up, their movements swift but no match for Lucian's desperation.

"Lucian!" Darius called, voice ragged. "Slow the hell down—"

Lucian ignored him.

His mind was fixed on one thing.

Vale.

And how he was going to tear him apart.

Astrid swore as she pushed forward, barely keeping pace. "Lucian, listen to me! If you go in blind, you'll get yourself killed—"

Lucian came to a sudden halt, his boots digging into the dirt.

His silver eyes blazed as he turned to face them.

"I don't care." His voice was low, lethal. "He took her."

Darius exchanged a wary glance with Astrid. "And if you die trying to get her back?"

Lucian's fangs bared. "Then I die trying."

A heavy silence hung between them.

Then—

Darius exhaled sharply. "Then let's make sure that doesn't happen."

Lucian didn't respond. He turned back toward the horizon, his magic flaring.

He could feel her.

And nothing—not even death—would stop him from getting her back.

Selene's Awakening

Selene stood in front of Vale, arms crossed, expression set in stone.

"I don't believe you," she said.

Vale smiled. "You will."

He lifted a hand, and the walls around them shimmered, revealing something ancient.

A vision.

Selene gasped as images unfolded before her, shifting like pages of an unwritten story.

A woman with silver eyes and fire in her veins.

A man with golden power, his presence commanding.

A war.

A bond that shattered the world.

Selene's heart thundered.

She didn't recognize them, but something inside her did.

Vale's voice was soft, almost gentle.

"This isn't just about Lucian and me," he said. "It's about you."

Selene swallowed hard.

Something about this—about the way the images pulled at her—felt too real.

Too familiar.

Her fingers trembled.

And for the first time, a sliver of doubt crept into her mind.

End of Chapter Twenty-Two