Chapter 24

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Chapter 24: The First Strike

Thunder cracked over the Black Mountains, a sound like the sky breaking open in fury. The wind howled, and with it came the scent of blood, steel... and betrayal.

Selene stood at the balcony of the Night King's keep, her silver-mark still warm against her skin. Valerian was at her side, his hand gripping the stone rail as he scanned the horizon — a hunter sensing the kill before it arrived.

"They're coming fast," he muttered. "Too fast."

Selene frowned. "How many?"

Valerian's jaw clenched. "Not many. Five. That means they're sending the Vexian Five — the Council's personal death squad."

"Can we fight them?"

He turned to her slowly. "I can. But they weren't sent to fight me. They were sent to destroy you."

A beat of silence. The words landed like ice in her blood.

"But they don't know what I've become," Selene said softly, meeting his gaze with a quiet fire. "Let them come."

Valerian's expression darkened, pride flickering in his eyes. "You are my greatest danger, Selene."

"And your only salvation," she whispered.

—

By nightfall, the keep was sealed in high alert.

The fortress of the Night King was ancient, carved into the mountain itself, with layers of magical wards and shadow-forged traps. But none of that mattered against the Vexian Five — elite assassins, each gifted with blood-magic and nightmare-born steel.

Selene dressed in deep violet, the color of royal mourning. Her silver-mark gleamed against her collarbone, pulsing with its own soft light. Every step she took toward the inner courtyard felt like a decision she couldn't undo.

Valerian tried to stop her. "Let me handle them."

But she shook her head. "I carry your mark. I sit beside your throne. I will not hide behind stone."

And then they came.

No grand entrance. No warnings.

Just shadows — melting out of the darkness, cloaked in silver bone-armor, their faces hidden behind masks carved from cursed wood. Five figures. Silent. Deadly. Walking straight toward Selene like she was a lamb before the slaughter.

Valerian stepped between her and them.

But the leader of the Five raised a single hand.

"Stand aside, Night King. This is not your judgment."

Valerian bared his fangs. "She is mine. That makes her your queen."

"No," the second assassin whispered. "That makes her your undoing."

They struck in the same breath.

Blades whistled.

Selene was pulled back, and a dome of obsidian magic roared up around her. Valerian fought like the legends said he would — ruthless, beautiful, and bloody. But the Five weren't ordinary soldiers. They fought in unison, like parts of a single dark force. Every swing of their blades sent cracks through the shield around Selene.

And then—one broke through.

The third assassin hurled a blade not at Valerian, but at her.

Selene lifted her hand—

And it stopped mid-air.

Her silver mark burst into light. The dagger hovered, frozen in place. Then, with a shriek of metal and magic, it turned backward and launched into the assassin's chest.

Silence fell.

Even the wind stilled.

Valerian turned, blood dripping from his claws, eyes locked on her. "You controlled the steel."

Selene blinked, panting. "I didn't mean to."

One of the Five stepped back in visible shock. "She's not just bonded. She's... woken."

But the leader wasn't done. He moved fast — impossibly fast — straight for Selene.

She didn't run.

She didn't scream.

She spoke.

Her voice dropped, echoing with an ancient tongue that wasn't hers, yet poured from her lips like a song of death and prophecy.

"Blood calls to blood. Night to moon. I am the key. I am the curse. I am the door you should not open."

The sky cracked.

A wave of power exploded from her, knocking every assassin to their knees.

Even Valerian fell to one hand, stunned by the force.

When the light faded, only Selene stood.

And all five assassins lay unconscious — their minds locked in a vision of whatever ancient terror her magic had summoned.

Valerian rose slowly.

"Selene," he said in awe. "You're not just fate-bound. You're the trigger."

She turned to him, silver eyes glowing softly.

"Then we'd better find out what I'm meant to start... before someone else finishes it first."

—

End of Chapter 24