Severance

Elantra:

The sound echoed through the trees like a nightmare wearing a melody.

Wolves.

Not just one or two, but a chorus. A hunting pack. The kind bred for war, not wilderness. Their howls cut through the silence in perfect intervals, like a signal. A message.

They were tracking us.

Lucien stiffened beside me, jaw clenched, every muscle sharp beneath his cloak.

"That's not a patrol," he murmured. "That's a retrieval squad."

My pulse spiked. "From the palace?"

He gave a slight nod, eyes scanning the treeline. "And they're not coming to escort us back gently."

"System Alert: Bond Disruption Detected."

"Cassian Valemont – Severance Attempt in Progress."

The words flashed across my vision again, burning into my thoughts like brands.

I clenched my fists. "What does that mean? Is he okay? Why would he sever the bond?"

Lucien turned sharply toward me, eyes flashing with something that looked like fury, and fear.

"He wouldn't. Not willingly."

"Then someone forced him."

"Or something."

I felt it then, the bond between Cassian and me shuddered. Like a string yanked hard enough to snap, but still hanging on by fraying threads.

The warmth I used to feel from him? Gone.

In its place was a deep, hollow ache. Like someone had scooped out a piece of my soul.

I pressed a hand to my chest, staggering.

"Elantra!.." Lucien caught me before I hit the ground, arms steady, voice rough.

"I'm okay," I lied. "Just… off-balance."

The truth was, it felt like a part of me was dying.

"Warning: Bond integrity at 27%. Stabilization recommended."

"System, how do I stabilize it?"

"Reinitiate emotional contact. Physical proximity advised."

"That's not an option!"

"Then prepare for loss."

Lucien's hand gripped my wrist tighter. "We don't have time to argue. We have to move."

"But what about Cassian?!"

"If we get caught," he said, voice suddenly sharp, "you'll be dragged back to the palace, or worse. And if he's being forced to sever the bond, they've already started using him against you."

The realization dropped like a stone.

Cassian might be the first to fall.

Unless I got to him first.

We ran.

Through the trees, over moss-covered stone and tangled roots. The forest was cold, but the energy in the air sizzled with magic. I could feel the bond threads vibrating like chords in a discordant song.

Riven's line burned hot, urgent. Calling.

Lucien's pulsed steady, protective.

Cassian's faded with every step.

The farther I ran, the more it slipped.

A slow, terrible tear down the middle of something I hadn't realized I'd grown attached to.

Lucien caught my glance. "We'll find a safehouse," he said. "There's a commune outside the borderlands. Neutral territory. If we get there, I can get word to my people."

"You trust them?"

"They're not royal," he said grimly. "They don't have to lie."

We stopped only when the sound of pursuit grew faint behind us.

Dawn hadn't yet touched the sky, but the horizon glimmered with silver-pink edges. My legs ached, lungs burning. Lucien kept glancing at the trees, eyes narrowing at every sound.

We crossed a shallow stream, the cold shocking against my ankles, and emerged into a clearing bordered by fallen ruins, ancient, half-swallowed by ivy and moss. A crumbled archway marked the center, flanked by what once might've been sacred columns.

Lucien paused. "This was a temple."

"To what?"

"The old gods," he said. "Before the system replaced them."

I touched the arch. My fingertips tingled.

"System anomaly detected. Ancient energy signature recognized."

"What is this place, really?" I whispered.

Lucien lowered his hood, staring at the stone.

"Where wolves were made," he said softly. "Before we were broken into kings and killers."

We rested there, if you could call it resting. I sat against the cold base of a shattered statue, the silver feather clutched in my palm. My head throbbed with memories that didn't belong to me. Visions of fire. Of cloaked figures. Of Cassian holding something bleeding in his hands.

Lucien stood on watch, arms crossed, silent.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"Tell me the truth," I said.

He didn't look at me. "About what?"

"You knew this was going to happen. The bond. The system. The palace's trap. You've known more than you're letting on."

Silence.

Then: "I was part of the original MoonLink trials."

I blinked. "What?"

Lucien's eyes were shadowed as he turned toward me. "Years ago. Before you were born. Before the prophecy. The Council experimented with syncing wolves who weren't chosen. They forced connections. Broke people. Broke me."

"What happened?"

"I survived," he said bitterly. "Barely. They wiped it from the records. Told the world the system was flawless. And when I started remembering, when the magic didn't wipe me clean, I ran."

I stared at him, heart pounding.

"You've been watching the system from the outside this whole time."

"Yes," he said. "Because I knew one day… it would find its real Luna. And I wanted to make sure it didn't destroy her."

My breath caught.

Lucien looked away.

"I didn't expect her to be you."

"System update: Bond with Lucien Blackthorn—stabilized. Current sync level: 42%."

My head snapped toward the sky. "Forty-two?!"

Lucien blinked. "What did you say?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

He frowned. "No, it's the system, isn't it?"

"Nothing!" I hissed.

But the heat in my chest said otherwise.

I wasn't supposed to feel anything for him.

And yet…

Just as I opened my mouth to change the subject, a flare lit up the sky.

Not fire.

Not magic.

Beacon flare.

Lucien stiffened. "That came from the west."

"Is it them?"

He grabbed his blade. "It's either Riven… or a death squad."

And then.....

"Incoming transmission: RIVEN THORNE. Bond activation requested."

"Put him through!" I snapped.

The system glowed.

"...Elantra? If you're seeing this, don't come back to the palace. Cassian's bond is being severed by force. They're using a relic, ancient, forbidden. It's killing him. The Council is planning to reset the system through you. They've activated the Luna Kill Protocol."

My blood turned to ice.

"You have to get to the Temple of the Thirteenth Moon. It's the only place you can override the system. I'll meet you there. Move fast."

The message ended.

Lucien's jaw tightened.

"They want to reset the system through you. That means killing your current self and reprogramming the bond matrix."

"They'll erase me," I whispered.

"No," Lucien growled. "They won't."

The bond pulse flared suddenly.

"Bond with Cassian Valemont – 5%. Critical Severance."

I clutched my chest as pain exploded behind my ribs.

Lucien caught me as I staggered.

"We have to go," he said. "Now. If we wait....,"

"He won't survive," I whispered.

The moonlight shifted… and the first assassin stepped out from the trees.