Elara's POV
The darkness swallows everything.
I throw up my strongest shield, but Seraphina's corrupted power crashes through it like paper. The impact sends me flying backward. I hit the ground hard, gasping.
Through the chaos, I see both Dante and Kieran moving—throwing themselves between me and certain death. Their combined shields of alpha power and shaman magic barely hold back the ancient darkness.
"Together!" Dante shouts. "Or we all die here!"
Their power creates a dome over us. Seraphina's magic slams against it repeatedly. Both men stagger with each hit. Blood drips from Dante's nose.
I can't let them die protecting me.
I reach for my Starborn power—weak and flickering after everything—and pour it into their shields. Cosmic fire explodes outward.
The darkness shatters. Seraphina screams and vanishes into shadow.
But I know she's not dead. Just waiting.
I collapse. Kieran catches me instantly.
"Come to the Stronghold," Dante pleads, reaching toward me but stopping himself. "I have healers, protection—"
"No." My voice is weak but firm. "I can't go back to the place where you destroyed me."
Pain crosses his face. "Then where?"
"North," I say, looking at Kieran. "If you'll still have me."
"Always," Kieran answers.
Through the bond, I feel Dante's jealousy burning. But he doesn't argue.
"I'm sorry," he whispers. "For everything."
I don't respond. Can't. I'm too tired and confused.
Kieran carries me away. Behind us, Dante's voice sounds hollow. Defeated.
Part of me is glad. Part of me aches for him.
We travel north for two days with Dante's warriors escorting us to the border. The moment we cross into Northern territory, everything feels different. Cleaner. Freer.
"How do you feel?" Kieran asks.
"Alive," I say. "That counts for something."
As we walk, he tells me stories about ancient Starborn who once ruled with wisdom, not fear. About how wolves hunted them down because they were afraid of power they couldn't control.
"You get to decide what Starborn become next," Kieran says. "Will you be what they feared? Or something better?"
No one's ever given me that choice before.
That night, we camp under brilliant stars. For the first time since the rejection, I feel peace.
"Thank you," I whisper. "For seeing me as more than a rejected mate."
"You were always more," he says.
For the first time in weeks, I smile. Really smile.
We reach the Northern Pack lands at sunset. Wolves gather and bow to me. Actually bow.
An elderly blind woman approaches and touches my Starborn mark.
"The cosmic daughter has come home," she breathes. Then her face fills with terror. "But she brought a shadow with her."
Ice runs through me. "What shadow?"
"The bond to the Southern King—something's using it as a bridge. Something dark is following you through it."
Suddenly I feel it. Dante's emotions through the bond—but twisted, wrong, corrupted.
Seraphina's infected him.
"She's using him to track me!" I gasp.
"Then cut the bond," the elder says coldly. "Before she uses it to destroy us all."
"If I cut it, Dante dies!"
"Better one death than thousands."
Horror fills me. Could I actually kill him?
Through the bond, I feel Dante's confusion. He doesn't know he's infected.
The darkness inside him grows stronger.
I have to choose: save Dante and risk everyone, or cut the bond and kill him.
Kieran takes my hand. "Whatever you decide, I stand with you."
The choice is mine alone.
And then, through the bond, Dante's voice echoes in my mind—except it's not his voice anymore. It's layered with something dark, something ancient:
"Hello, little star. Did you really think running north would save you? I'm already inside him. And through him, I'm coming for you."
Seraphina laughs through Dante's mouth.
She's not just tracking me.
She's possessing him.