Chapter 73

Chapter 73 – The Bond of Fire and Blood

"Every legend begins with blood. Theirs began with a kiss that shook eternity."

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The crown hadn't cooled. It throbbed with ancient power, pressing down on Selene's head like a weight of galaxies. Her pulse sang with it, each beat echoed by the runes scrawled across the air, her skin, the stone altar beneath her feet.

But Valerian didn't see a queen.

He saw her.

His omega. His mate. His undoing and salvation all at once.

And Selene—Selene saw everything.

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When she opened her eyes, they weren't just hers anymore.

They held fire from the beginning of time and shadows older than the sun. Gold and crimson swirled in their depths, streaked with the prophecy she'd shattered and rewritten in her own voice.

Valerian reached for her slowly, as if afraid she'd vanish.

"You're still… you?" he asked.

"I'm more me than I've ever been," she whispered.

Then their lips met.

And the temple exploded with light.

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The bond snapped into place with a force that knocked them both to their knees.

It wasn't just soul-deep. It wasn't just love.

It was creation.

Valerian's darkness poured into her like ink into fire, and Selene's power surged back—flames licking down her spine, across her collarbone, carving ancient symbols into her skin that glowed with meaning: Beloved. Bound. Eternal.

His hands were on her hips, then tangled in her hair, her cloak falling like smoke.

She gasped his name.

"Valerian—"

And he growled against her throat, fangs aching to sink in, every instinct screaming to claim her.

But this time, Selene moved first.

She dragged her mouth along the curve of his neck, kissed the spot where his heartbeat roared the loudest, and whispered, "Mine."

Then she bit.

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Fire bloomed through their bodies.

He let out a harsh, shuddering moan—half pain, half pleasure—his eyes glowing red as blood surged toward the mark.

Then he spun her around and lifted her against the altar. Her legs wrapped around his waist on instinct, every nerve in her body lighting up, every sense focused on him. Their bond was more than a mating mark now. It was a cosmic thread, taut and searing.

"I've waited lifetimes for this," he rasped, his voice rough velvet.

Selene's nails dug into his back. "Then don't be gentle."

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The temple turned to storm.

Rays of crimson light burst from the runes as their bodies met with fury and heat, no longer holding back, no longer fearing what they were becoming. Every movement between them echoed with prophecy and passion, a clash of moonlight and thunder.

And as they fell into each other, over and over again, the old gods watched.

Because they had tried to curse her.

But she had chosen him.

And now the two most dangerous beings in the world were one.

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Outside the temple...

The wind howled. Trees bent. Rivers reversed.

Far across the valley, in the dark kingdom of Caer Thorne, a seer dropped her chalice, her voice cracking in terror.

> "The Crown has Awakened…

The Blood Bond is Complete…

The End begins with a kiss."

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End of Chapter 73 – Next: Chapter 74, The Kingdoms That Kneel