All Chapters of Bound by:moonlight : Chapter 21 - Chapter 29

Then it was gone.Rowan released Mira, who stumbled back, furious.“I won’t fight you,” Seraphina said softly. “But I’m not giving myself up either.”Rowan’s expression twisted—disappointment? Pain?“I was hoping you’d make this easy.”Then the shadows behind him shifted.And Seraphina saw them—Hollowborn.At least five, maybe more, slithering forward like smoke given shape. All eyes and claws.Mira backed toward Seraphina. “I really don’t like this.”Seraphina held her ground.Rowan raised a hand.The Hollowborn stopped.“You have three nights,” he said. “At the next red moon, come to the Hollow Gate. Alone. Bring the Flame. Or I come for you… and I won’t be alone next time.”Then the shadows swallowed him whole.Gone.⸻For a moment, neither of them spoke.Then Mira let out a shaky breath. “What the actual hell just happened?”Seraphina sank to her knees. “He’s… he’s not gone. He’s still in there.”Mira stared at her. “Girl. That wasn’t your brother. That was a walking horror movie.

Footsteps approached. Kael.He nodded toward the trees. “Lucien’s back. Found a river, fresh water. And… something else.”Seraphina stood. “What?”Kael’s face was unreadable. “Smoke. From the east. A village.”Lucien emerged from the trees a moment later, carrying a satchel of herbs and two rabbits. “Could be a refugee camp,” he said, tossing the satchel to Mira. “Or a Hollowborn slaughter.”Seraphina looked at Rowan. Still unmoving.“I can’t leave him.”Kael put a hand on her shoulder. “Then I’ll go. Alone.”Lucien scowled. “That’s stupid.”“I’m faster on my own. If there’s danger, I’ll signal. If not, I’ll bring back whatever help I can find.”Seraphina hesitated, then nodded.Kael touched her hand briefly before disappearing into the trees, his shadow swallowed by pine.⸻Hours passed.Rowan stirred once, groaning. But didn’t wake.Seraphina stayed beside him, the others quiet in the background. Mira collected herbs. Lucien patrolled. But the tension was rising, thick as smoke.The

Inside the Ashspire, the air changed.The world dimmed. Magic crackled in the stones. Old magic—feral and ancient. It tugged at Seraphina’s flame like a magnet. She could feel the Hollow Queen’s presence here.Not physical.But close.Mira set wards as they moved. Rowan stayed near the back, still weak, but his senses were sharp.“This place is a wound,” he said. “The Queen carved her power here. It’s soaked into the stone.”Kael ran his fingers along the wall. “It’s… humming.”Seraphina turned a corner—and found a staircase spiraling down into the dark.Lucien lit a torch. “If this is a trap, it’s very well-decorated.”They descended.Each step felt heavier. The pressure built, like the air itself didn’t want them there.At the bottom—A chamber.Black stone. Glowing veins of red magic inlaid in the floor. A mirror stood at the center—tall, oval, made of obsidian.And inside the mirror… her.The Hollow Queen.Or a reflection of her.She turned slowly, golden eyes locking on Seraphina

The fall wasn’t clean. Seraphina tumbled through darkness, Rowan’s hand clutched tightly in hers. Ash and embers flew around them like falling stars. For a moment, there was only silence—and then impact. They landed hard, but not painfully. The ground beneath them pulsed with warmth, soft and strange. Seraphina gasped, her lungs filling with thick, smoky air as she rolled onto her side. “Rowan?” she called, coughing. “Here.” His voice came from a few feet away. She turned and saw him sitting up, brushing black dust off his jacket. “You okay?” “Mostly.” She stood slowly, using the wall for balance. “Where are we?” They were in a cavern far beneath the Ashspire. The walls were alive—veins of glowing ember ran through black stone, lighting the vast chamber with a dull, reddish hue. The space thrummed with power—raw, ancient, and angry. And then she saw it. In the center of the cavern stood a stone altar. Chains forged of obsidian curled around it like vines strangling a tree. R