Adrien’s heart hammered. He forced his fire to flare, though it barely lit a few feet around him. A shape emerged. Not the cloaked figure.This one was taller, broader, its body shifting like liquid shadow, its eyes like suns eclipsed. It leaned close, and Adrien felt heat radiating off it, a heat not of flame but of consuming void.“You tried to take my daughter,” Adrien growled, teeth bared. “I don’t care what you are. I’ll tear you apart.”The thing laughed, a deep, endless sound that rattled the void. Your daughter…? No. She is not yours. She was never yours. Adrien froze.She carries the shard of the Queen. She carries destiny. You are only the vessel that delivered her. You are nothing. Rage surged through him, fierce enough to crack his ribs.He launched himself forward, fist blazing, and slammed into the shadow’s chest. The impact exploded silver fire across the void. The being staggered back. Then it smiled. Yes… burn for me.The fire didn’t fade. It spread. Silver light race
Zayn cursed under his breath, shoving Liora behind him and slamming his palms to the ground. Sigils flared, bursting into golden chains that whipped upward, catching the first of the beasts mid-leap. Flames roared through their bodies, scattering them into ash.But the chains shattered under the weight of the next wave. Adrien charged forward, silver fire erupting from every pore of his skin.His fists tore through shadow and bone, his roars shaking the ruins. Every blow was thunder. Every strike burned through another hunter. But there were too many.Claws tore across his chest. He staggered. A set of fangs clamped into his shoulder. He ripped the beast off, but blood streamed freely, splattering the stones. His glow dimmed for a heartbeat before he forced it back, rage dragging him forward.Zayn fought at his side, his magic cutting like a thousand blades. His face was pale, his jaw locked, sweat dripping down his temples.“They won’t stop!” Zayn bellowed. “They’ll throw every shado
Eyes burned in the dark, hundreds of them, each one fixed on Adrien, on Liora, on the faint trail of Sera’s essence clinging to them.Adrien’s grip tightened around his daughter. His breath came fast, harsh. His instincts screamed at him to run, but there was nowhere left to go.Zayn’s voice cut like steel. “They’ve locked on her scent.”Adrien turned, desperate. “Then tell me how to stop them!”Zayn’s hands glowed faintly as he summoned his power, but his face was grim. “You can’t stop them. You can only delay them.”The sky split again, and another hunter fell. This one was larger, four-legged, spined like a beast, its claws scraping across the broken stone as it landed. The earth trembled under its weight, and its screech ripped through the night like tearing metal.Adrien’s chest heaved. Every instinct screamed for him to protect Liora, to shield her from the monsters that stalked closer with every heartbeat. But the rage inside him, the silver fire burning, demanding release, wou
Adrien whipped around, fury blazing through his broken body. “Don’t you dare say that. She’s not gone, she’s here! She was fighting, she reached for us!”Zayn’s jaw tightened. “I felt it. I saw it. The goddess was split, yes, but so was Sera. When the crown shattered, it didn’t just release her.”Adrien’s throat closed. “…What do you mean?”Zayn’s gaze fell heavy on him. “It scattered her.”Adrien’s knees nearly buckled. His arms tightened around Liora, who was whimpering now, whispering, “Mama… Mama…” over and over like a broken prayer.“No,” Adrien rasped. His eyes burned. His lungs felt like fire still lived inside them. “No, that’s not possible. She’s too strong. She, she can’t be gone!”Zayn’s voice was grim. “Not gone. But not whole, either. The crown didn’t just bind her power, it held her together. Without it, she’s…” He hesitated, searching for the word. “…everywhere.”Adrien stared, not comprehending. His hands shook. “Everywhere? What the hell does that mean?”Zayn stepped
The flames pushed harder. His vision blurred, his breath cracked, his knees buckled. His muscles tore. He could feel his heart faltering under the crushing heat.And then, something strange. The fire didn’t only consume him. It recoiled.Like an animal biting into stone, it shuddered, faltered, confused. Adrien’s body was breaking, but something deeper than flesh, something buried in his blood, rose against the goddess’ fire.A different light flickered across his skin. Not gold. Not shadow. A pale silver, cold and unyielding, sparking beneath his burning veins. The goddess’ voice sliced through the chaos.“What—are—you?”Adrien collapsed to his knees, still clutching Liora. He could hardly breathe, every word ripped raw from his throat.“I’m the man… who won’t let you take her.”The silver glow pulsed stronger. The goddess staggered back, for the first time since her awakening, her crown flickering uncertainly.Zayn’s eyes widened, recognition flashing across his face. “It can’t be”
Adrien’s hands pressed harder, his lips sealing over hers as he forced air into her lungs again.“Come back to me,” he whispered against her mouth. “Come back, Sera. You’re mine. You’ve always been mine.”Nothing. The ash kept falling. The silence pressed closer. Adrien’s body sagged. His forehead rested against her cold skin. His tears burned trails down his face, dripping onto her unmoving lips.He whispered, broken, “Don’t leave me. Not when I still need you. Not when she still needs you.” His gaze flicked toward Liora, whose small frame shook with sobs. Sera’s fingers did not twitch. Her chest did not rise.Adrien’s scream tore from his chest, raw and ragged, splitting the silence. It was not a cry of a warrior, not a shout of defiance, just the sound of a man shattered, holding the only thing he had ever truly loved.Kael coughed again, collapsing fully to the ground. His voice rasped through the blood.“She… was never yours to keep, Adrien Vale.”Adrien’s head snapped toward him