The Eclipse Rises

Lyra

The world stopped. The music, the whispers, the clinking of glasses all died the moment Zade hit the floor.

The silver bolt was buried deep in his chest, right where his heart should be. Black smoke hissed from the wound. Zade’s eyes, usually so bright and dangerous, were turning a dull, flat gray. He reached for my hand, his fingers trembling, but his shadows were gone. He was vulnerable. He was dying.

"Zade! Stay with me!" I screamed. I pulled his head into my lap, ignoring the blood staining my obsidian gown. "Don't you dare leave me here!"

Robbie, Caleb’s Beta, stepped out of the crowd. He was still smiling that sick, oily smile. He raised a second crossbow, the silver tip aimed directly at my forehead.

"Don't worry, Lyra," Robbie said, his voice loud enough for the entire Gala to hear. "You won't be alone for long. Caleb wants you back, but he said a dead maid is better than a traitorous one."

I looked around the room. The powerful Alphas and Elders were just watching. They weren't helping. They were waiting to see if the Shadow King would fall so they could scramble for his crown.

My heart didn't just break, it ignited.

A cold, heavy pressure built up behind my eyes. It wasn't the "Void" I had used on Sasha. It was something deeper. Something ancient. I felt a hunger in my soul that wanted to eat the light out of the room.

"You think I'm just a maid?" I whispered. My voice sounded different. It vibrated with a power that made the floor tiles crack.

"I think you're a nuisance," Robbie snapped. He pulled the trigger.

The bolt flew. It was a blur of silver death.

But I didn't move. I didn't have to.

I reached out my hand and simply caught the air. An invisible wave of silence exploded from my palm. The bolt didn't just stop; it turned to dust. The light in the massive chandeliers flickered and died, leaving the ballroom in a terrifying, grey twilight.

I stood up, leaving Zade’s side for just a moment. I walked toward Robbie. Every step I took made the air get colder. The people around us started to gasp, clutching their throats. They couldn't use their magic. They couldn't even shift.

I was the Void. And in the Void, there are no Alphas.

"Caleb sent you to do his dirty work because he’s a coward," I said. My voice was a calm, chilling echo. "And you came because you’re a fool."

Robbie tried to drop the crossbow and run, but his legs wouldn't move. He was frozen in my field of silence. I grabbed him by the throat, and I didn't need wolf strength. I just let my power flow into him. He didn't scream, he couldn't. He just turned pale as I sucked every bit of mana out of his body.

I tossed him aside like a piece of trash. He hit the wall and slumped down, alive but powerless. He would never shift again.

I turned to the crowd. Caleb was standing there, his face as white as a sheet. Sasha was hiding behind him, shaking.

"This is your warning," I told the room. "The Crescent Moon Pack is dead to me. If any of you follow them, you follow them into the dark."

I knelt back down next to Zade. I didn't know how to heal, but I knew Zade’s shadows. I knew they were hungry. I pressed my hands against the silver bolt.

"You said I could silence your pain," I whispered, tears blurring my vision. "So, silence it, Zade. Take it from me."

I pushed my power into the wound. I didn't try to pull the bolt out; I tried to unmake the silver. I felt the poison burning my own veins, but I didn't stop. I felt Zade’s heart give a sudden, violent thud under my palms.

His eyes snapped open. They weren't emerald anymore. They were solid, terrifying black.

Zade grabbed the bolt and ripped it out of his own chest with a snarl. The wound closed instantly, leaving nothing but a scar. He stood up, his shadows returning with a force that knocked over the nearby tables.

He didn't look at the assassin. He didn't look at Caleb. He looked at me.

"You saved me," he breathed, his voice raw.

"We’re even now," I said, trying to smile through the exhaustion.

Zade turned to the ballroom. His presence was so massive it felt like the walls were closing in. He walked over to Caleb, who was trying to sneak toward the exit. Zade didn't use a weapon. He just put a hand on Caleb’s shoulder.

"The contract has changed, Caleb," Zade said, his voice like a grinding stone. "I was going to let you live in your little kingdom. But you tried to kill my Luna."

"Zade, wait" Caleb started to beg.

"The Eclipse has risen," Zade interrupted. "And your sun is setting."

Zade didn't kill him. Not yet. He looked at me, a silent question in his eyes. He was giving me the choice.

I looked at Caleb, the boy who had promised to love me and the man who had tried to murder me. I didn't feel love. I didn't even feel hate anymore. I just felt finished.

"Take his pack," I said. "Take his land. Leave him with nothing but the clothes on his back. Let him see what it’s like to be 'Rankless.'"

Caleb let out a sob, but Zade just nodded.

We walked out of the Gala, the crowd parting like we were gods walking among mortals. But as we reached the car, Zade stopped. He leaned against the door, his face turning pale again.

"Zade?" I asked, reaching for him.

He looked at me, and I saw a thin line of black ink leaking from his ear.

"The bolt... it wasn't just silver," he whispered. He slid down the side of the car, coughing up black blood. "It was the Blood-Lock. Lyra... the Council... they didn't send Robbie to kill me."

He grabbed my hand, his grip crushing.

"They sent him to mark me. They’re coming for the throne tonight. You have to run."

Across the parking lot, a dozen black SUVs sped toward us, their headlights cutting through the dark like the eyes of predators.

Zade is incapacitated by a secondary poison, and the Council’s army is seconds away. Lyra is the only one left to defend the Shadow King.