All Chapters of Bound by:moonlight : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The first tree crashed down only a few yards away.Splinters exploded like shrapnel, shooting through the air as the creature behind it let out a growl that didn’t belong in this world. It was too deep, too wet, too full of things that had crawled through nightmares.“Run,” Kael said, grabbing Seraphina’s arm.Lucien was already shifting mid-stride, fur bursting from his skin, claws slashing down as he barreled toward the treeline to intercept whatever was coming.Rowan barely stayed on his feet. “There’s no outrunning them. They’re sent to stop us from reaching the gate.”“I thought you said they were extinct,” Kael growled, dragging Seraphina toward the narrow ridge path. “Ancient. Lost.”“They were,” Rowan gasped. “But he keeps the worst of them sleeping… until he needs them.”Another tree fell.Then another.And through the dust stepped the creature.It was… massive. At least ten feet tall, hunched and grotesque. Its limbs were long, joints bent the wrong way, skin like old stone

Seraphina moved toward the shard, her steps steady even as the chamber fell apart around her.The clawed hand fully emerged now, followed by an arm—black as void, covered in jagged markings that pulsed with hunger. The Hollow King’s essence was clawing its way out, fighting to return.Kael shouted something behind her—maybe her name, maybe a curse—but she didn’t stop.The fire in her veins answered the call of the shard. Her blood, her curse, her legacy. The bond screamed to be completed.As she raised her hand to the shard, her mother’s words rang again in her head:“You don’t have to become him. You just have to burn him out.”The shard lit up.Pain seared through her. Her knees buckled, but she forced herself to stay upright. She gripped the air just above the shard—and flames burst from her palm, wrapping around the crystal in a spiral of gold and blue.The Hollow King’s arm flailed, trying to reach her. The magic in the room cracked like lightning.And then—A voice whispered fro

They barely made it out before the first wave hit.The forest exploded into motion—wolves with glowing eyes and matted fur, jaws snapping, howls echoing through the trees. These weren’t natural. They moved like shadows, fast and silent.Kael and Rowan fought back-to-back, blades flashing.Lucien shifted into his wolf form—dark grey, massive—and slammed into the attackers.Seraphina tried to summon fire. At first, nothing happened.Then the mark on her hand flared—and a burst of black flame shot from her fingers, scorching a path through the wolves.She staggered.The fire wasn’t hers.It was something else.Kael grabbed her wrist. “You okay?”“No,” she breathed. “But I will be.”They fought their way through the forest, down into the valley, toward the riverbank. The wolves kept coming. Endless. Like the forest itself had turned against them.“We need to lose them!” Lucien growled through his bond.“There’s a ravine ahead!” Rowan shouted. “We can jump—”A wolf slammed into Kael, knock

They moved deeper into the northern forest.The trees here were older. Twisted. The air heavier. The mark on Seraphina’s hand grew hotter with every step, until it felt like fire under her skin.Lucien sniffed the air. “Something’s close.”Kael drew his sword. “What kind of something?”They reached a clearing.A ring of standing stones surrounded a pool of dark water. The mark on Seraphina’s hand flared so bright, it lit the entire clearing in gold.“This is it,” she whispered. “The second shard.”The water shimmered. Then a shape rose from the center.A woman.Her body was made of smoke and water, her hair floating like seaweed, her eyes glowing blue.“Seraphina,” she said, voice echoing in their bones.Kael stepped forward. “Who are you?”“I am the Keeper of the Second Gate,” the spirit said. “I guard the shard of memory. Only the one who bears the mark may take it.”Lucien crossed his arms. “What’s the price?”“There is always a price,” she said. “To claim the shard, she must reliv

And eyes just like hers.“Wait,” she said.Kael looked back. “What is it?”“This statue… I’ve seen her before.”Lucien frowned. “Where?”“In the Breaker’s Gate. In one of the visions the shard gave me.”Kael crouched beside it. “Look at the inscription.”There were faint markings at the base. Lucien wiped moss away, revealing old words:“The Sealed Flame. Last of Her Kind.”Kael whispered, “She looks like you.”Seraphina touched the stone.Her mark pulsed.The statue’s eyes glowed briefly—and a voice echoed in her mind.“You are the last gate. Keep it closed. Or burn the world with it.”She stumbled back.“What did it say?” Kael asked.“Something about a gate. And flame.”Lucien’s eyes widened. “Sera… maybe you weren’t just chosen by the shard. Maybe you were made for it.”Seraphina’s stomach twisted. “I don’t want to be anyone’s weapon.”“Maybe you don’t have a choice,” Kael said gently.⸻They reached the city’s center as the sky dimmed to gray.A tower stood at the heart—tall and c