"If the gods asked me to choose between you and the crown, I'd happily burn the throne and kiss you in the ashes Aria."
The words from Caelan wrapped warmly around Aria, sending her heart fluttering yet again like only he could. He wasn't even looking at her when he said it, his face was turned towards the kingdom spread beneath them as the late evening wind played with his tussled hair.
She looked at him again, sitting there beside her on the roof of the abandoned observatory… their secret hangout spot overlooking the kingdom. He had one arm around her waist, while their entangled legs dangled playfully over the edge.
Aria leaned in closer into him. "Then I hope they never ask, because I'll also do the same."
He finally looked at her, and then gave her that slow, reverent smile of his that always left her breathless. "Do you really mean that?"
"With my whole body and soul my love." Aria replied dreamingly.
Tomorrow, the entire kingdom would watch them ascend… not just as bonded mates, but as rulers. The Alpha and Luna of Aerrowyn, chosen by the moon goddess herself, and blessed by fate. But tonight… tonight, they were just two young lovers on a rooftop, covered in moonlight and dreams of a brilliant future.
"Do you remember the first time we came up here?" Aria asked, resting her head on his shoulders.
Caelan chuckled. "Of course I do… You dragged me by the sleeve and said you needed help hunting a nighthawk egg, then tried to push me off the edge when I called you soft."
"I wasn't soft." She protested. "I just hated heights."
"Now look who's the queen of heights." he teased.
Aria smiled in the darkness. "Maybe because you were always the wind beneath me."
He groaned. "That was terrible, have you been listening to the drunken poet again?"
Aria burst out laughing and punched him on the shoulder. "You're so mean… I hate you."
"I love you." He whispered with a cheeky smile.
The words were simple and sounded ordinary, but it meant everything to Aria, her anchor and safe space since the death of her father. She took a really long look at Caelan, taking in all the features of his face. The tiny scar on his face gotten when saved her from an angry goose, the cute little dimple that only appeared when he was with her, and those supple lips she never tired of kissing.
"You're going to make an incredible Alpha," she said softly.
He said nothing, but simply stared ahead with a lost look in his eyes.
Aria traced small circles on his chest in the silence. "Sometimes I wonder if it's all too perfect, like the world's holding its breath and waiting for the moment to tear all this happiness away."
Caelan stiffened briefly. "Then let it try," he said in a low voice. "We were born for this Aria, born for each other."
Once again the cool night breeze swept across the rooftop, lifting Aria's hair and spreading them over Caelan. Below them, the kingdom slumbered, while high priests were likely preparing the Moonfire for the mating ceremony at the sacred altar.
"Tomorrow," she whispered.
"Tomorrow," he echoed.
They leaned even closer into each other, their lips meeting… sealing their promises under the stars.
Far beneath the earth, and hidden from the reaches of the moon and stars… a secret altar was pulsing with dark and forbidden power.
Selene Vale moved in the creepy shadows, her black robe trailing behind her like an evil serpent. The darkness was filled with incantations, and the air smelled heavily of sulphur, ash and questionable ingredients.
At the center of the chamber was a stone basin, with two delicate threads of pure spirit… one gold, one silver, both twisted in perfect harmony.
"The bond is quite strong," Selene murmured, her voice was heavy with reverence and a dark awe. "It's too strong, it must be loosened first before we proceed."
"Then loosen it," said a voice from the shadows.
Darius Vex emerged, tall and broad, dressed in his full council regalia. He held a small box in his hands, and his face carried a look of worry and curiosity.
"The bloodroot oil you requested, and the stardust ash from the eastern cliffs."
Selene stretched her hand and took the box with a dark smile, delicately opening it and examining the contents. "Perfect." she said, inhaling the dark, spicy aroma.
"You know this is dangerous," Darius said. "If the High Priests discover you're tampering with a sacred bond before its sealing…"
Selene cut him off quickly. "They won't Darius."
Her eyes gleamed with a mischief as another evil smile spread across her face. "And even if they did, I already have something special ready for them."
She began to chant.
The bond threads in the basin began to glow, reacting to her voice as it rose gradually. The twisted even tighter, resisting and fighting her spell.
Selene paused and frowned.
"So loyal aren't you little bond? Let's see what loyalty looks like when I finish twisting your soul."
She poured the bloodroot oil into the basin, and a hiss rose from the threads… like breath escaping a dying soul. The glow of the gold and silver threads dimmed as they trembled weakly.
"It's beginning," she said solemnly.
Darius was becoming more uncomfortable. "This is more than severing Selene, you're not just loosening it are you? You're… replacing it."
Selene didn't answer. Instead, she held up a single vial of blood… Caelan's blood.
Darius blinked in surprise. "Where did you get that?"
Selene grinned darkly. "Oh Darius, sometimes you can be so clueless… The Alpha bleeds for what he believes in."
She uncorked the vial and let the drop fall into the basin, then she gently pricked her finger and allowed a drop of blood fall into the mix.
The reaction was instant, and the basin erupted in light. The chamber was covered with a golden blaze as the twin threads writhed, pulled, twisted… then shuddered. The silver strand began to untangle from the gold.
Selene's voice rose higher.
"Sacred flame, Moon's blood, star's name, Break the vow before it's made, Turn the bond and let the love decay."
The strands shrieked. Not in sound, but in sensation. Darius stumbled back, clutching his chest.
"Selene! Stop! You'll destroy them!"
"No," she whispered, smiling once again. "I will remake them, I will give Caelan the fate he truly deserves. Not a weak girl born of sunlight and duty…"
Her fingers hovered over the loosening silver thread.
"But a queen forged of shadow and power."
As the bond trembled on the edge of complete collapse, Selene's eyes burned with a secret, and evil look of triumph.
Far above on the observatory rooftop, Aria stirred in Caelan's arms as a sudden chill ran through her spine.
She looked up at him. "Did you feel that?"
Caelan blinked, then gave her a gentle smile. "Must be the wind my love."
But his eyes lingered on the horizon… lingered too long.