All Chapters of Bound By Two Moons: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The sanctuary remained silent after the stranger disappeared. Aurora stood beneath the glowing symbols carved into the floor, unable to take her eyes away from the blood-red crown. The lost Moon Kingdom. The words continued to echo in her mind. She turned slowly toward Lucien. “You knew.” Lucien didn’t answer. Aurora’s voice trembled. “You knew there was a kingdom connected to me.” “I knew there were legends.” “That’s not what I asked.” Lucien looked at her. “I didn’t know you were its heir.” Kael stepped closer. “Neither did I.” Aurora looked between them. “Then why does everyone seem to know more about me than I do?” No one answered. Her frustration boiled over. “I’ve spent my entire life believing I was human. Now I’m being told I’m a Moon Champion, I have three bonds, I died six hundred years ago, and apparently I’m the heir to a kingdom that doesn’t even exist anymore!” Her voice echoed through the sanctuary. Then the floor began to glow. A projection appear

The Shadow Army charged. Aurora raised the Blade of Selene. A wave of silver energy exploded from the sword, sending the first row of creatures crashing backward. But there were hundreds behind them. Kael shifted into his enormous black wolf form and launched himself into the battle. Lucien disappeared into the shadows. Aurora stood between them, the silver mark on her palm burning brighter with every heartbeat. For the first time, she wasn’t afraid of her power. She welcomed it. “Come on,” she whispered. The next wave attacked. Aurora swung the blade. Silver flames tore through the darkness. One by one, the Shadow creatures fell. But then the Shadow King appeared directly in front of her. His sword collided with hers. CLANG! The force sent Aurora sliding backward. “You’ve become stronger,” he said. Aurora steadied herself. “You sound disappointed.” “I’m terrified.” He struck again. Aurora blocked. Their blades locked. “You know what happens if you reach the M

Aurora repeated the name quietly.Something inside her reacted to it.Not fear.Recognition.Her silver mark burned.She pressed her palm against her chest.“I know him.”Seraphine’s eyes widened.“No.”Aurora looked at her.“I don’t remember his face, but I know him.”Lucien stepped closer.“What do you remember?”Aurora closed her eyes.A voice.Deep.Cold.Whispering in her ear.You were never meant to survive.Her eyes snapped open.“He was there.”Kael moved beside her.“When?”“The night I died.”Seraphine’s face went pale.Aurora turned toward her.“You knew.”Seraphine didn’t deny it.“Yes.”Aurora’s voice hardened.“Tell me everything.”“I can’t.”“Why?”“Because if I tell you here, he’ll hear us.”Lucien’s eyes narrowed.“Who?”Seraphine looked toward the palace.“The Shadow King isn’t merely outside the kingdom.”She swallowed.“He has been living beneath it.”A cold silence settled over them.Kael’s expression hardened.“How long?”“Six hundred years.”Aurora stared at the

“Run!”Seraphine’s voice echoed through the collapsing palace.Aurora barely had time to react.The floor beneath her feet cracked open.Lucien grabbed her around the waist and pulled her backward just as a massive piece of stone crashed where she had been standing.Kael shifted into his wolf form and charged toward the palace entrance.“Move!”Aurora ran.But her eyes remained fixed on the Shadow King.He hadn’t moved.He stood beneath the collapsing archway, watching her.“Come with us!” Aurora shouted.His silver eyes softened.“I can’t.”“Why?”He looked toward the palace.“Because this place is bound to me.”Aurora stopped.“What does that mean?”“It means if I leave…”He glanced at the dark cracks spreading across the kingdom.“…the Moon Kingdom falls with me.”Aurora’s heart sank.“No.”The Shadow King smiled sadly.“You’ve already returned. That’s enough.”She tried to run toward him.Lucien caught her.“Aurora, we have to go.”“Let me go!”“He’s made his choice.”Aurora strug

Aurora stared at the guard.“Say that again.”The guard swallowed.“Your first crown has been found, Your Majesty.”Aurora’s eyes moved toward Seraphine.The queen hadn’t moved.Her face had gone completely pale.“You know where it is,” Aurora said.Seraphine slowly nodded.“The royal chamber.”Aurora frowned.“Why is that important?”“Because that chamber was sealed the night you died.”Kael stepped forward.“Who opened it?”The guard shook his head.“We don’t know.”Lucien’s eyes narrowed.“Then how did the crown get there?”The guard hesitated.“We found the door already open.”Aurora felt the mark on her palm begin to burn.She knew immediately.“Take me there.”Lucien stepped in front of her.“No.”Aurora looked at him.“Lucien.”“We don’t know what’s waiting inside.”“I don’t care.”“You should.”Kael stepped between them.“She needs to see it.”Lucien glared at him.“And if it’s a trap?”“Then we deal with it together.”Aurora looked at both of them.“Together.”Neither argued.