Chapter 137: The Hands Behind the Gate

Somewhere beyond the Outlands, Kael ran.

Blood smeared his shirt. His ribs ached from where the shadowborn had thrown him. He wasn’t healing fast—something was dulling his regeneration, like a curse clinging to his skin. But he couldn’t stop.

Not when Selene was in danger.

Not when he’d seen Darian with his own eyes.

The warlock hadn’t aged a day. Cloaked in crimson robes, eyes obsidian, his voice had echoed in the clearing like a forgotten god.

“The child is the key. We no longer need Selene once it’s born.”

Kael had drawn his blade then, but it was a trap—Darian had been waiting.

Now Kael limped toward the palace, praying he could get there before whatever dark rite Darian was preparing took root.

Meanwhile… in the Dream Realm

Selene stood in a forest of silver trees. The moon overhead pulsed with light, and everything shimmered like it was made of memory.

A voice called softly, ancient and familiar.

“Child of the gate… come forward.”

Selene turned—and there she was.

A tall woman in silver armor, with a red cloth tied at her waist. Her eyes were like Selene’s. Her hair darker. Her presence unshakable.

Naelira.

“You’ve seen what’s coming,” the woman said. “And you’ve felt the stirrings of the gate. It is awake.”

“I didn’t ask for this,” Selene whispered.

“Neither did I,” Naelira replied. “But we are its mirrors. Its keepers. It will always choose us.”

Selene blinked back tears. “They want my child. They say I have to choose between them and Elias. That I can’t save both.”

Naelira’s gaze softened.

“They lie.”

“What?”

“You were never meant to choose. You were meant to break the cycle. They fear what you are becoming—both light and shadow, born and unborn. You carry what I never could: freedom.”

Selene stepped forward, her heartbeat echoing.

“But the prophecy—”

“Can be rewritten. All of this has happened before… but it doesn’t have to end the same.”

Before Selene could speak again, the dream shook. The trees blurred. Naelira’s body flickered like a flame in the wind.

“He’s here,” she whispered. “Darian is poisoning your dream. Wake up, Selene—before he reaches the child.”

Back in the Palace…

Selene jolted upright with a gasp, drenched in sweat, her hand on her stomach. The mark on her skin had darkened—not glowing, but burning. Beside her, Elias stirred instantly.

“What is it?”

“Darian,” she whispered. “He’s coming. And Kael’s in danger.”

Lyra was already by the door. “Then we move now.”

But before they could act, the chamber lights flickered—and a shadow passed beneath the door.

A voice hissed from beyond the stone:

“You should have stayed asleep, Eclipse-born.”

Elias was on his feet instantly, shifting halfway into his wolf form. “We have to get her out—now.”

Meanwhile… In Darian’s Hidden Sanctum

Kael dangled by his wrists, chained in obsidian shackles that drained his strength. Blood dripped from his lip, but he was smiling.

“You’re getting desperate, Darian,” he rasped.

The warlock stood before him, unfazed. “I’m getting closer.”

He moved to the altar in the center of the room. A crude effigy sat atop it—made of bone and ash, and pulsing faintly.

“I’ve touched her dreams. She saw Naelira. Good. Let her cling to hope.”

“You’ll never touch the child,” Kael spat.

“I already have,” Darian whispered. “And when the Blood Eclipse rises... I will make sure Selene opens the gate herself.”

Back in the Dream Realm

Naelira’s voice fractured like wind against stone, but her eyes stayed locked on Selene’s.

“Darian feeds on fear,” she warned. “He weaves lies through ancient prophecy to bind you. But what’s coming isn’t about fate. It’s about will. If you falter, he wins.”

Selene’s body trembled. “Then tell me what to do. How do I stop him? How do I protect them both?”

Naelira stepped forward, pressing her hand to Selene’s heart.

“There is power buried in your bloodline—beneath the throne, beneath the lake, beneath the very name you carry. Find the mark of the three. Unlock what I could not. Only then can the gate be sealed by your hand—not with sacrifice… but with choice.”

The dream began to rip apart as Darian’s magic tore into the space.

Selene clutched Naelira’s hand one last time. “What’s the mark of the three?”

But Naelira’s last whisper was swept away in shadow.

Palace Chambers – Immediate Aftermath

As Selene gasped awake, the room exploded into motion.

A dark fog seeped from the corners of the chamber, turning the walls cold and pulsing. Elias grabbed her, shielding her body with his, while Lyra drew her twin blades.

“He’s not here physically,” Selene rasped. “He’s inside the palace—but he’s casting from somewhere else. He’s close.”

“Too close,” Elias said, glancing at the stone as frost crackled up the walls. “He's trying to freeze the bond.”

“What?”

Selene’s mark began to pulse violently.

Lyra cursed under her breath. “He’s trying to isolate you from Elias. Separate your auras. If he succeeds—”

“My child dies,” Selene whispered.

Elias held her tighter, his forehead against hers. “You’re not dying. Neither is our child. I don’t care what prophecy or warlock says otherwise.”

Selene’s eyes glowed faintly. “Then help me burn through this spell. Together.”

They closed their eyes, their marks lighting up in unison—Elias’s chest glowing gold, Selene’s glowing silver. The two lights merged briefly into a radiant burst of eclipse magic that shattered the freezing spell in an instant.

The shadows shrieked as they vanished.

Selene opened her eyes—stronger now.

“He’s not going to stop,” she said. “And we can’t keep running.”

Lyra stepped forward. “Then we find him. And we end him.”