تسجيل الدخولELENA’S POV The stone corridor beneath the Eastern Tower buckled. A sudden BOOM rattled through the mountain bedrock, the kinetic force of the impact throwing me sideways against the damp mortar wall. Dust and ancient granite crags rained down from the ceiling, instantly coating the shoulders of my leather jacket in gray powder. The siege had officially begun. Richard wasn't waiting for the blizzard to clear. "High Queen!" Jaxon yelled, stumbling up the cellar stairs with his broadsword drawn, his face draining of all color. "The southern wall! The Western vanguard just launched their first volley from the ridge! It hit the primary iron portcullis!" Before I could answer, a second thud shook the lower foundations of the fortress. The groan of massive, iron-wheeled catapults echoed from the dark valley below. I didn't need to see the sky to know what was flying over our battlements. My mind flashed back to the narrow pass battle weeks ago—I could still smell the burning sul
ELENA’S POV "Nikolai, stop!" I barked as I broke into a flat sprint. My chest was a furnace. The current of the Eclipse Core was roaring behind my ribs as I cut through the servant shortcuts to head him off. I hit the base of the Eastern Tower spire just as Nikolai reached the first landing. His six-foot-seven frame was a wall of fury. The claymore in his hand was already unsheathed, the heavy iron blade scraping against the stone. His eyes were dark, his nostrils flaring with the scent of an Alpha who had just marked his target. I threw myself directly into the center of the narrow spiral staircase, blocking his path. My twin daggers slid into a reverse grip, the dark starlight magic crackling aggressively across the steel. "Step aside, Elena," Nikolai growled. He didn't raise the blade against me, but his towering presence pressed heavily into my space. "The prince is a parasite. Every second he breathes, he is draining your life force. I am putting an end to it." "If
ELENA’S POV The corridor outside the infirmary was freezing, but the sweat rolling down my neck felt like liquid lead. I marched toward the Great Hall, my leather boots clicking heavy and uneven against the stone. I kept my left hand shoved deep inside my jacket, pressing my palm hard against my collarbone. Beneath my fingers, the skin was splitting. It wasn't a phantom sensation anymore. A thin, jagged line was weeping a mixture of dark shadow fluid and a hot, golden-tinted crimson through my shirt. It was a direct, physical reaction to the distance the guards were placing between Kaelen and me. The closer he got to the Eastern Tower, the harder the iron wire inside my chest pulled, shredding my internal channels from the inside out. The needle, a dark, predatory instinct whispered from the depths of my mind. My shadow wolf was pacing frantically behind my ribs, her massive starlight form snapping at the edges of my consciousness. She didn't recognize the power humming in our
ELENA’S POV The gray dust of the shattered crest stone was still settling over my bedsheets when I swung my legs over the edge of the mattress. My bare feet touched the cold stone floor, but for the first time in five years, the winter chill didn't make me flinch. My muscles were coiled like tight steel springs, humming with a restless, unfamiliar energy that vibrated directly behind my ribs. Kaelen lay crumpled in a heap at my feet, his skin a deathly gray. The vibrant aura of the Solar prince was entirely gone, snuffed out like a candle. He was breathing, but it was a fragile, gurgling rattle. He had bankrupted his own soul to bridge the core into my veins, leaving himself a broken, powerless mortal. Nikolai stepped forward, his heavy hand resting on the hilt of his iron claymore, his eyes burning with a predatory intensity. "We throw him in the dungeons, Elena. The pack elders are already panicking because the fortress foundations shook. If they find out the prince who wore t
ELENA'S POV The darkness shattered, replaced by the scent of dried lavender and old blood. I couldn't move my fingers. I couldn't open my eyes. But I could hear everything. The heavy oak doors of my infirmary chamber banged open against the stone wall. The panicked gasps of the pack healers filled the room. "Alpha! You cannot bring him in here!" Healer Martha’s voice trembled with a mix of terror and absolute outrage. "He is the enemy! His father’s guards slaughtered—" "Out," Nikolai commanded. His voice was a vibrating rumble that brooked no argument. It carried the full weight of his Alpha aura, forcing the healers to bow their heads and retreat. "Everyone. Out. Now." The hurried scuffle of footsteps faded. The heavy doors clicked shut. A new sound filled the sudden quiet: a body dragged itself, or was dragged, across the cold stone floor toward my bedside. "If this is a trick, Kaelen," Nikolai growled, his breathing heavy and ragged, "I will peel the flesh from your bone
KAELEN'S POV The silver dagger pressed deeper into my throat, drawing a thin line of crimson that instantly froze against my collar. My breath hitched.. My remaining eye flickered with a desperate light. I knew I had seconds before Nikolai’s rage ended my life, and with it, any hope of saving Elena. Summoning the absolute last ounce of my fading strength, I choked past the blood in my throat. I forced my trembling right hand down into my torn tunic, my fingers brushing against the cold, pulsing surface of the hidden relic. "The... stone..." I gasped out, my voice a gurgling whisper that barely carried over the howling wind. "Look... at the stone..." Nikolai’s grip on my hair tightened, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Your tricks won't save you, traitor. Speak your last words." With a final effort, I pulled the velvet pouch from my chest and let it drop into the snow between them. The impact loosened the drawstring. The heavy black fabric fell away, revealing a jagged,
ELENA'S POV "Nikolai!" The solid midnight aura around my shoulders flared as I leaped across the sand. I didn't care about the 3,000 Broken Fang warriors watching from the stone tiers. I didn't care about proving my dominance anymore. My legs moved on adrenaline, catching Nikolai’s massive frame
ELENA'S POV The laughter of the illusionary court rang in my ears, a deafening roar that threatened to split my skull in two. The phantom version of Kaelen stood over me, his face a mask of absolute arrogance, his eyes dripping with the same disgust that had sent me fleeing into the frozen rifts f
ELENA'S POV The splintered wooden floorboards felt agonizingly real beneath my palms. The stench of greasy dishwater and burning lye filled my nose, choking me. I tried to stand, but my limbs felt small, weak, and uncoordinated. I looked down at my hands. They weren't the scarred, strong hands o
ELENA'S POV Nikolai’s armored transport ground to a halt in the central courtyard. The moment the steel doors hissed open, the biting northern air slammed into my face, cutting through my leather jacket. But the cold outside didn't compare to the icy tension vibrating between Nikolai and me. He







