Sophie's POV
The moon had long vanished behind thick clouds, leaving the forest draped in shadows and sorrow. My blanket barely kept out the chill, but it wasn't the cold that kept me awake—it was the silence.
And the guilt.
I hadn't seen Kael since the vision shattered.
I hadn't heard his voice, felt the tether of our bond, or sensed his presence.
I had failed the trial.
Chosen fear over faith. And now, something between us had broken.
I pressed my palm to my chest where the bond used to hum like a second heartbeat. Now, it was faint, like a song drifting farther with each moment. I closed my eyes and whispered the words again. "I'm sorry."
But the trees didn't answer, The wind carried no comfort. Only the low cry of a distant wolf echoed through the branches—a howl filled with longing. Was that him?
I wanted to believe it was.
Wanted to believe he hadn't given up on me.
But deep down, I feared he had.
Kael's POV
She didn't understand what that trial meant.
She wasn't meant to.
But it still hurt like a blade between the ribs, deeper than any wound Ronan's spear had left in me.
I stood on a rocky ledge above the valley where Sophie had camped for the night. I could see her faint silhouette curled against the base of an ancient root, her shoulders trembling beneath the blanket. She was safe—for now.
But the spirits wouldn't wait forever, Nor would the prophecy.
I should've gone to her, Reassured her and explain everything. But I couldn't.
Not yet.
Not with the darkness rising again… not when the blood moon was near.
My father's voice rang through memory like an old ghost. "If she falters, she dies. And so do you."
But I wasn't like him.
I wouldn't punish fear with exile.
I would teach her to rise from it.
Even if it meant watching from afar… for now.
Ronan's POV
The Seer Stones had begun to crack.
A sign of imbalance.
A sign of choice gone wrong.
I crouched in the ancient grove beneath the Moonfang Tree, my fingers resting lightly against the sacred bark. The roots pulsed with ancestral power, and the leaves above whispered secrets only the bonded could hear.
"She broke the link," I muttered aloud, "but not the bond."
There was still time.
Still hope.
But hope required sacrifice. And in the world of wolves, sacrifice always meant blood.
The spirits demanded an offering.
And they would soon come to collect.
Sophie's POV
Morning came as a pale thing, filtered through mist and grief. I barely moved as the sunlight touched my skin, numb to its warmth.
The red-eyed crow still watched from above, perched unnervingly still on a crooked branch.
"Are you following me?" I asked bitterly.
The bird tilted its head.
Then hopped once.
And flew, but not away.
Ahead.
I frowned.
Was that… a sign?
I stood slowly, brushing off my cloak, ignoring the ache in my joints from the cold and the guilt that still gnawed at my gut.
Maybe Kael wasn't coming.
Maybe he couldn't.
But I had come too far to give up now.
If the spirits wanted another trial… then so be it.
I would face them.
With or without him.
I started walking—following the crow.
Kael's POV
She was moving again.
Good.
The forest watched her, Tested her, Judged her. But it also whispered to her, just as it whispered to me.
It remembered her.
Just like I did.
I trailed behind silently, close enough to guard, far enough not to interfere. The bond was still weak, but not gone. Just… injured.
Like me.
My side still bled beneath the wrappings from Ronan's spear, but pain was the least of my concerns.
The Blood Rite loomed.
And Sophie had no idea what it truly demanded.
Sophie's POV
By midday, I reached the edge of an ancient stone circle—pillars taller than men, marked with runes that shimmered faintly in the light.
The crow landed on one, then vanished.
A shiver coursed through me.
I wasn't alone.
"Welcome, Trial-Bearer," a voice called out.
I turned quickly. A figure stepped from the shadows—cloaked in white, their face hidden beneath a hood carved with bone-like feathers.
"Who are you?"
"A Keeper of the Pact. Guardian of the Second Rite."
"What rite?" I asked, voice small.
"The Rite of Fire and Flesh," the Keeper said. "You've passed the Trial of Trust, Barely. Now you must pass the Trial of Bond."
"I… don't understand."
"You will," the Keeper replied. "Strip away your fear. Enter the flame. And find what's buried beneath it."
The stones began to glow.
And the ground beneath my feet grew hot.
Fire. Real fire—rising from the cracks, dancing in a perfect circle.
I stumbled back.
"No," I breathed. "I—I can't…"
"Your bond is fractured. Only through fire can it be reforged. Only through pain can you reach the soul."
"I don't even know if he's still with me…"
"Then burn away the doubt."
The flames roared.
And something inside me shattered again—not from fear, this time.
From choice.
I stepped forward.
Kael's POV
She stepped into the fire.
The runes lit the sky.
And the howl that ripped from my throat was no longer mine alone.
It was hers.
Sophie's POV
Pain exploded through me like lightning through bone.
I saw Kael—not the monster from the vision, not the shadow-king from the stories.
But the boy.
The lonely prince with frost in his blood and scars no one saw.
I saw his fall.
His banishment.
His pain.
And I saw myself—burning, breaking, healing.
The fire didn't consume me.
It revealed me.
And when I opened my eyes…
Kael stood on the other side.
Hand outstretched.
Again.
This time, I didn't hesitate.
I took it.
Kael's POV
The bond snapped back like a drawn bow released, striking both of us through the soul.
Her hand in mine.
Her fire in my chest.
And I knew—beyond prophecy, beyond fate.
She chose me.
Even after everything.
Even after the fear.
She chose me.
And now… the real battle begins.