Se connecterELENA'S POV The silence that followed my declaration was heavier than the silver gas choking the vents back at the fortress. Alpha Vance didn't laugh. A man who had survived three separate solar purges by raw brutality didn't look for a joke in a death threat. His eyes fixed on my twin daggers resting on the ironwood table, then slowly drifted up to lock onto my face. "Pure willpower," Vance repeated, his voice a dangerous purr. "No parlor tricks. No ancestral magic shielding your fragile bones. Just the raw crush of an Alpha's soul against yours." "Just the weight of our souls," I said, my voice steady, completely drained of fear. Behind me, I could hear the sharp click of Nikolai’s fingers tightening on the leather-wrapped hilt of his claymore. He didn't like this. He knew exactly what an ancient Alpha's aura could do to an unshielded mind. It could rupture blood vessels; it could snap a wolf's spirit before it even had the chance to fight back. But he stayed where he was,
ELENA'S POV Elena... the runes... they’re pulling... Kaelen’s mental voice scratched against my temples, frantic and fading. Through the Anima Nexus pulsing against my collarbone, I felt the moment Nikolai forced Kaelen's broken internal channels to align with the iron links. "I choose both, you stubborn fool!" I roared. I lunged forward. I didn't draw my daggers against Nikolai, but I threw the full weight of my Eclipse aura into the space between us. A shockwave of purple starlight exploded from my palms, hitting Nikolai’s iron breastplate. The kinetic force forced him back three steps. Before he could recover, I spun toward the grates. I slammed my bare palms directly onto the glowing iron shackles holding Kaelen against the grate. "Elena, don't—" Kaelen gasped, his head rolling back. I was trying to override the frequency. My shadow wolf threw her head back within the dark expanse of my mind, her star-flecked form snarling as she poured her ancestral power
ELENA’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 Citadel’s ancient library lay far beneath the white marble floors of the Grand Ballroom. It was a vast, subterranean labyrinth of cold stone arches and towering cedar shelves that stretched into the darkness. The air here was heavy with the scent of dried parchment, old leather, a
ELENA’S POV The royal quarters of the Western Territory were dead silent, save for the muffled pacing of Lady Tanya. The high council guards had allowed her and Kaelen to remain confined to their chambers under strict house arrest until the morning tribunal, rather than dragging them immediately
ELENA’S POV The silence that followed my declaration was thick and filled with panic. The white-and-gold liveried wine steward did not even attempt to deny it. The moment my eyes locked onto his position near the kitchen entrance, his face went a sickly, ash-gray color. He dropped his silver tra
ELENA’S POV The Grand Ballroom of the High Council Citadel was filled with golden chandeliers, white marble, and fake smiles. Hundreds of the world’s most powerful Alphas and Lunas filled the tables for the closing ceremony. They drank expensive wines and laughed loudly, their conversation a mask







