Damon’s POVThe wind carried the scent of steel and sanctified blood.I stood atop the watchtower, eyes fixed on the horizon. The Crimson Order came like a storm. Crimson banners, golden armor, and their twisted symbol—two swords piercing a wolf's skull—fluttering like a warning from the gods.They hadn’t set foot outside their sacred mountains in decades. But now they marched toward my kingdom, declaring me an abomination and Rhea a dark queen reborn.Liars.Hypocrites.Fools.“We don’t have enough time to fortify the eastern wall,” Thorne said beside me, his brows furrowed. “And if their high priests lead the charge, we’re facing more than blades. They’ll use holy fire.”“I’ve seen that fire burn through Lycan bone,” I muttered. “It won’t spare anyone.”“We need to send the boy away,” Thorne added. “And her, Damon. She’s unstable. The power in her—it’s not what it used to be. It’s... darker.”I grabbed Thorne by the throat and slammed him into the stone wall before he could finish t
Rhea’s POVThe battlefield was silent.Too silent.Ash coated the ground like snowfall, thick and clinging. The scent of blood, fire, and shadow magic lingered like an omen. Bodies littered the earth—some familiar, many not. All of them lost to a war that should’ve never needed to be fought.I stood at the heart of it, my hands still glowing faintly, the last remnants of the power Lilith had buried in me pulsing beneath my skin.Kael was dead.Lilith was dust.And yet, I didn’t feel victorious.I felt… hollow.Damon stood beside me, his face unreadable, jaw clenched tight. His sword dripped with the blood of a brother he once loved. His eyes searched the horizon as if expecting more enemies to crawl from the darkness.“Are we safe?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.“No.” He didn’t look at me. “Not yet.”---The survivors gathered in the ruined field—the remnants of Damon’s forces, my loyal warriors, and a few deserters from Kael’s side who’d surrendered when the tide turned.
Damon’s POVThe first blow came like thunder.Rhea’s scream tore through the battlefield as Kael launched a spear of void-magic straight at her. I moved before I could think, intercepting it mid-air with my blade. The impact knocked me back, my body skidding across gravel and blood-soaked soil.But I didn’t stop.I couldn’t stop.This was the war I was born for.Behind me, the howls of our warriors rose into the night, answering the ancient call of vengeance. The Blue Storm Lycan Kingdom surged forward—fangs bared, claws gleaming, rage boiling over centuries of betrayal.Kael stood at the heart of the chaos, cloaked in dark power, his corrupted pack shielding him like rabid dogs.He grinned when he saw me rise.“Still breathing, brother?”“I won’t stop until your heart’s in my hand.”He laughed. “You’ll have to find it first.”Then the world exploded.---The battlefield was a storm of blades and teeth. Lycan against Lycan. Magic against will. Old alliances shattered under the pressur
Rhea’s POVI’ve always known there was something inside me.A storm waiting to break.A fire waiting to consume.A name… whispered in prophecy.But never, never… did I think I would be the end.I stood beneath the blood-moon sky, the edges of my wings flickering with dying embers, Kael’s words echoing through my soul like a curse I couldn’t silence.She’s the final flame.I wanted to deny it.To scream, to fight, to destroy anything that dared name me a monster.But deep inside… I felt it.The cracking.The unraveling.The slow, terrifying awakening.---Damon stepped closer, his hand hovering near mine but not touching. Not yet.“What did you mean, Rhea?” he asked, voice low. Steady. But I could feel the tension in him. The fear. “What did Kael do to you?”I looked at him, and for the first time, I saw it. Not just the warrior. Not just the king.But the man who would burn the world to keep me alive.My voice cracked as I answered. “It wasn’t just about taking my power. He... fed it.
Damon’s POVLilith’s scream still echoed in my bones.It wasn’t pain.It was delight.She’d planned this.Even as the fire consumed her body, her eyes were locked on Rhea—not with fear, but with triumph. And Kael… that bastard had disappeared right before our blades could touch his throat.The Eclipse Coven didn’t fall.It retreated like venom sinking back into the fang, waiting for the next strike.I stood in the smoking ruins of the northern wall, blood staining my armor, ash falling like snow. All around me were the broken bodies of witches and warriors, the ground soaked with sacrifice.We’d won the battle.But we hadn’t won the war.Rhea stood alone in the aftermath, her wings dimming, her hands trembling. Not from fear—she was far beyond that now, but from fury. Her power hummed in the air, wild and volatile.She looked like vengeance.And she was mine.I approached her slowly. “It was a trap.”“I know,” she whispered. “She let me kill her.”“She knew it would burn you.”“I don’
Rhea’s POVThe battlefield was not a place, it was a state of mind.And mine had cracked.My dreams were filled with screams. Children crying. Wolves howling in agony. My wings tore through the veil of night, dragging blood across the stars. And always, always, Kael’s voice whispering my name like a curse.When I awoke, I wasn’t sure I had slept at all.The camp was quiet, dew clinging to leaves like the last tears of the dying forest. Damon was gone—already preparing for the day ahead. Aurelian still slept, curled against a mossy log, clutching the dagger I gave him.We were all soldiers now.And today, we would stop running.I stepped into the clearing, where Caleb and his warriors waited, weapons strapped, expressions grim. Damon stood near the front, his armor dark as the shadows clinging to his soul. When he looked at me, something flickered behind his eyes—fear, hope… love.Maybe all of them.I raised my voice. “We strike at dusk.”Murmurs rippled through the ranks.“They’ll be