Lyra's POV
Light explodes across my skin the moment his fingers touch my cheek.
I gasp, stumbling backward, but the Moon King's other hand catches my waist, steadying me. His grip is firm but surprisingly gentle for someone who just lifted an Alpha off the ground with one hand.
"Don't fight it," he says quietly, his silver eyes locked on mine. "Let it happen."
"Let what—" The words die in my throat.
Because something is happening to me. Something impossible.
Heat spreads from where his hand touches my face, racing through my veins like liquid fire. But it doesn't hurt. It feels like waking up after being asleep my whole life. Like every cell in my body is coming alive for the first time.
I look down at my arms and scream.
Marks are appearing on my skin—ancient symbols and swirling patterns, silver and gold, glowing so bright they cast shadows across the frozen ground. They spread up my arms like living tattoos being drawn by an invisible hand. Across my collarbone. Up my neck. I can feel them on my face, my back, everywhere.
"What's happening to me?" My voice is barely a whisper.
The crowd erupts in shocked gasps and terrified whispers.
"The Moon-Born marks!"
"That's impossible—"
"She's been marked by the Goddess herself!"
The Elder is sobbing now, actually sobbing, his face pressed to the ground. "The prophecy. The ancient prophecy is real. She's the one. She's—"
"She is exactly what I said she was." The Moon King's voice cuts through the chaos like a blade. He hasn't looked away from me once. "The last daughter of the celestial bloodline. The Moon-Born Queen."
"I don't understand." Tears stream down my face as more marks flare to life across my skin. "I'm nobody. I'm weak. Everyone's always said—"
"Everyone," he interrupts coldly, "was wrong."
His thumb brushes across my cheekbone, and another wave of marks appears. The light is so bright now that wolves are shielding their eyes, crying out in pain.
"Your mother was Celestia's younger sister," he says, and there's something in his voice now—not quite grief, but close. "A celestial princess who fled to the mortal realm when war threatened our kingdom. She sealed her own powers to hide, and she sealed yours at birth to protect you."
My mother. I never knew her. She died bringing me into this world.
"The 'weakness' everyone saw in you was never real," the Moon King continues. "It was a seal. The most powerful concealment magic in existence, designed to hide you from those who would use you. But tonight—" His gaze shifts briefly to Kael, and his expression hardens. "—when this fool rejected your mate bond, the trauma shattered the seal."
He looks back at me, and I see something flicker in those silver eyes. Something that might be approval.
"You were never weak, Lyra Ashborn. You were hidden."
The clearing is absolutely silent except for the sound of my ragged breathing and the crackle of power humming across my glowing skin.
"She can't be Moon-Born," Seraphina's voice cuts through the quiet, shrill and desperate. "Look at her! She's pathetic! She's nothing! This has to be some kind of trick—"
The Moon King turns his head slowly to look at her, and Seraphina's words die in her throat. Even from here, I can see her trembling.
"You," he says softly, "should learn when to be silent."
The command in his voice makes Seraphina drop to her knees, her mouth clamping shut involuntarily. She looks terrified.
Good. She should be.
The Moon King turns back to me, his expression softening slightly. "The marks prove your bloodline. They can't be faked, can't be stolen, can't be given to anyone not born with celestial blood. You are who the prophecy foretold."
"What prophecy?" I whisper.
"The one that brought me here." His hand is still on my face, and I realize I've stopped trying to pull away. "Three hundred years ago, an oracle spoke of the Moon-Born Queen's return. She said when the moon bleeds red and the forgotten bloodline awakens, the true queen will rise. Only through her union with the Moon King will balance be restored to the realms."
Union. The word hangs between us, heavy with implications I'm too overwhelmed to process.
"I don't want this," I say desperately. "I don't want to be anyone's queen. I just want—"
"What you want stopped mattering the moment those marks appeared." His tone is matter-of-fact, not cruel, just stating reality. "Every dark force in both realms will be hunting you now. The moment they learn the Moon-Born Queen has awakened, they'll come for your power. The only safe place for you is with me."
"Safe?" I laugh bitterly. "You're a stranger. An immortal king who hasn't been seen in three centuries. Why should I trust you?"
Something flashes across his face—surprise, maybe. Like he's not used to being questioned.
"Because," he says quietly, "I'm the only one powerful enough to protect you from what's coming. And because—" He pauses, his silver eyes searching mine. "—you and I are bound now."
"What?"
"The moment I touched you, the moment your marks awakened, the celestial bond snapped into place." His thumb traces the line of my jaw, sending shivers down my spine. "Do you feel it?"
I do. God help me, I do. There's something pulling at my chest, right where Kael's bond used to be before it shattered. But this is different. Stronger. Deeper. Like a chain made of starlight connecting us.
"No," I breathe, even as the bond settles deeper into my soul. "I can't—not another bond, not after—"
"The bond you felt with him was an echo," the Moon King says, his voice soft but unyielding. "A pale shadow of what was always meant to be. What you're feeling now—what we're feeling—this is real."
He takes my hand, and the moment our skin touches, the bond flares so bright I cry out. It's overwhelming, terrifying, absolutely undeniable.
"You are mine, Lyra Ashborn." His words carry the weight of divine law, resonating with power that makes the very air vibrate. "By blood, by prophecy, by the Moon Goddess herself. I claim you as my Moon-Born Queen and celestial mate."
"Wait—" I try to pull away, but his grip tightens.
"There is no waiting. No negotiation." His silver eyes burn into mine. "You're coming with me. Now."
"She's mine!" Kael's voice rings out desperately. He's on his feet now, his face twisted with panic and regret. "Your Majesty, please, I made a mistake. The Moon Goddess chose us as fated mates four years ago. That bond—"
"That bond," the Moon King says with deadly calm, "no longer exists. You severed it yourself." He looks at Kael with pure contempt. "You rejected her. You humiliated her. You threw away the most precious gift the Goddess could give you. Now you get to live with that choice."
Kael takes a step forward. "But—"
The Moon King's eyes flash with silver fire. "If you take one more step toward her, I will remove you from existence. Are we clear?"
Kael freezes, going pale.
Celestial light begins to gather around us—silver and blinding, crackling with power. I can feel myself being pulled upward, feel the ground leaving my feet.
"No!" I grab onto the Moon King's armor, panic surging through me. "Wait, please, I need time to think, I need—"
"What you need," he says, his voice quieter now but no less absolute, "is to survive. And that means coming with me."
The light intensifies. I catch one last glimpse of the clearing—my father finally showing emotion but it's too late, Helena's horror-struck face, Seraphina's rage, Kael reaching for me desperately.
"She was never yours," the Moon King tells Kael, his voice carrying over the building storm of power. "She was always meant to be mine. You just never realized it."
"Lyra!" Kael's scream is desperate, broken. "Please! I'm sorry! I was wrong!"
But his words are lost as the light consumes everything.
The last thing I see before the mortal realm disappears is the blood-red moon above us, and the first thing I feel in the blinding light is the Moon King's arms wrapping around me, pulling me close against his chest as we're ripped through space itself.
"Hold onto me," he commands.
I do, because I have no choice.
We're falling and flying at the same time, colors and stars blurring around us, the sensation of moving between worlds making my stomach lurch.
Then, as suddenly as it started, it stops.
We land—or appear, or materialize, I don't know—in a place that steals my breath.
We're standing in the center of a massive chamber made entirely of silver stone that glows from within. The ceiling is so high I can't see it, lost in shadows and starlight. Windows open onto a sky that's wrong—too many stars, too bright, moving in patterns that make my head spin.
The Moon King releases me, and I stumble backward, my legs shaking.
"Welcome," he says, his voice echoing in the vast space, "to the Celestial Court."
I stare around at the impossible beauty, at the realm that exists between worlds, at my new prison dressed up as a palace.
"This can't be real," I whisper.
"It's very real." He watches me with those unreadable silver eyes. "This is your new home, Lyra. Whether you accept it or not."
A door I hadn't noticed opens, and an old woman in silver robes enters. Her eyes are completely white—blind—but she moves with perfect confidence.
"Ah," she says, smiling. "The Moon-Born Queen has finally arrived. Welcome, child. I've been waiting three hundred years to meet you."
I look at the Moon King, at the blind oracle, at the impossible realm around me.
And I realize with absolute certainty that my old life is gone forever.
I've been claimed by an immortal king, bound by a prophecy I don't understand, and thrust into a world I never knew existed.
The question is: will I survive it?