CHAPTER 165
CHAPTER 165
SELENE
“Elias warned me,” Darius said quietly.
“The closer the eclipse gets, the harder the clash becomes.”
His hand found mine and threaded our fingers together without hesitation.
A sting pulsed through the bond where our skin met—sharp, unpleasant, but bearable.
Neither of us let go.
“We don't have a choice anymore, Selene.”
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
The kind of calm that meant he'd already made his decision and the rest of the world could argue with a wall.
“Whatever happens tonight, we endure it. We fight through it. We finish the Binding.”
His jaw tightened.
“Because if we don't, this doesn't stop.”
I swallowed.
The shadows in his eyes seemed darker somehow.
“The bond won't stabilize on its own. It'll keep fighting itself. Keep tearing at us. Every day it'll get worse. Every touch. Every kiss. Every moment.”
His fingers tightened around mine.
Not enough to hurt.
Enough to make a point.
“Until eventually there's nothing left to save.”
The words settled heavily between us.
Then his gaze found mine.
Steady.
Certain.
“I won't let that happen.”
There wasn't an ounce of doubt in his voice.
Not fear.
Not hesitation.
Just absolute conviction.
“I can bleed for you. Kill for you. Cross kingdoms for you.” A dark smile touched his mouth.
“And if I have to drag this entire world into the fire to keep you, then that's exactly what I'll do.”
“Darius—”
“No.”
His thumb swept slowly across my knuckles.
“Listen to me.”
The bond stirred uneasily between us.
A warning.
A reminder.
Neither of us cared.
“You are not losing me to this.”
His eyes never left mine.
“And I'm sure as hell not losing you.”
My chest tightened.
“Tonight, we make it work.”
“It doesn't matter how much it hurts.”
“It doesn't matter how hard it fights.”
“It doesn't matter what this bond thinks it wants.”
His free hand lifted to my face.
Careful.
Almost reverent.
Like I was something precious.
Like I was something he'd kill to protect.
“Because when this is over,” he said quietly, “you're still going to be standing beside me.”
His forehead rested against mine.
Warm.
Steady.
Certain.
“And if light and darkness don't like that?”
A dangerous smile appeared.
“Then they go to fucking themselves.”
A laugh escaped me despite myself.
Despite the fear.
Despite the ache in the bond.
Despite the eclipse creeping ever closer.
I squeezed his hand.
“I won't give up either.”
The bond flared immediately—a sharp warning sting where our fingers remained intertwined.
This time I welcomed it.
Let it hurt.
Let it remind me why we were doing this.
“Not to the bond. Not to Eron. Not to any of it.”
My voice steadied.
“I've come too far, Darius. I survived being kidnapped by a psychotic vampire prince. I survived discovering magic. I survived discovering that apparently fate has a sick sense of humour.”
A reluctant smile tugged at his mouth.
I squeezed his hand harder.
“If light and darkness want to fight, then they can fight. We'll deal with it.”
My throat tightened.
“Because I'm not losing you either.”
Something fierce flashed through his eyes.
Something that looked suspiciously like relief.
“Good.”
The single word came out rough.
Then his expression hardened again.
“Because if you try to give up, I'll drag you through this Binding myself.”
I rolled my eyes.
“There he is.”
“There I am.”
For a moment we simply stood there, foreheads touching, hands locked together, drawing strength from each other while the sky slowly darkened overhead.
Then Darius pulled back.
Just enough to look at me.
The last traces of amusement vanished from his face.
The eclipse was coming.
The moment had arrived.
His fingers tightened around mine.
“It's time.”
We walked out of the cave together, hands still clasped.
The others were already waiting. Roxy bounced on her heels, trying (and failing) to look casual. Xander stood like a statue carved from stone, jaw locked, eyes distant.
Morgana waited on the porch, arms crossed, looking thoroughly done with all of us.
“Finally,” she drawled as we approached.
“Thank the gods. Let’s get this over with so I don’t have to see your nauseating faces after tonight.”
She led us to a cleared space a short distance from the cottage — a perfect circle drawn with salt, crushed moonflowers, silver runes, and what looked like dried blood.
Candles burned at the cardinal points, their flames unnaturally steady despite the breeze. The air hummed with old, heavy magic.
Salt and crushed moonflowers formed a perfect boundary, glowing faintly under the blood-red light of the eclipse.
Silver runes were etched into the ground at precise intervals, pulsing with contained power.
Four black candles burned at the cardinal points, their flames unnaturally tall and steady, casting long, flickering shadows that danced like living things.
Morgana pointed to the center.
“Both of you. In the circle. Hold hands. And I mean hold. No matter what happens — no matter how much it hurts, no matter what you see or feel — you do not let go of each other’s hand. Understood?”
My heart hammered against my ribs as Darius closed his hand firmly around mine and led me into the circle.
The moment our bare feet crossed the line of salt, the air shifted.
It grew thicker, heavier, pressing against my skin like a storm about to break.
The bond between us reacted instantly — my spark flared hot and restless, pushing against his cool shadows with a low, warning thrum.
Darius’s hand tightened around mine, cool and unyielding.
“Hold on to me,” he murmured, voice low enough for only me to hear.
“No matter what.”
I nodded.
"No matter what."
Morgana stood just outside the circle, arms crossed,
Midnight perched on her shoulder like a judgmental gargoyle.
She looked exhausted but determined, her silver-streaked hair wild from the wind.
“Both of you. Kneel facing each other in the center,” she ordered.
“Hands locked. And I mean locked. If you let go even for a second, the spell will tear you apart instead of binding you. Understood?”
We knelt.
Darius’s knees touched mine.
Our joined hands rested between us.
Morgana stepped into the circle and produced a length of braided silver rope infused with glowing runes and began wrapping it tightly around our clasped hands and wrists, tying it with deliberate, intricate knots.
“This rope will help anchor you physically,” she explained.
Her sharp gaze moved between us.
“Because once the ritual begins, every instinct you have will be screaming at you to pull away from each other.”
The last traces of humor vanished from her face.
“The spell is going to force two opposing forces to become one. It won't be gentle.”
A chill ran down my spine.
Morgana took a step backward, then another, crossing out of the circle.
Roxy and Xander stood just outside the circle.
Roxy’s usual grin was gone, replaced by quiet worry.
She fidgeted with one of her daggers, eyes flicking between us.
Xander looked like a man carved from stone — jaw locked, fists clenched at his sides.
Morgana raised her hands.
"The bond will fight. Your magic will fight. Every part of you that fears losing itself will fight.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“So fight harder.”
The runes around our wrists pulsed once.
Bright.
Warning.
“Yield to each other. Trust each other. Find balance.”
A pause.
Then, in true Morgana fashion—
“Or die trying.”
Silence settled over the clearing.
The eclipse crept higher overhead, the moon now fully swallowed in blood-red darkness. The world had taken on an eerie, crimson hue, as if the sky itself was bleeding.
Every shadow stretched longer, every breath felt heavier. The circle suddenly felt very, very small — a fragile ring of salt, moonflowers, and glowing runes that seemed far too delicate to contain what was about to happen.
Morgana’s voice cut through the charged silence, sharp and commanding.
“The eclipse is at its peak. Let's Begin.”
She raised her hands to the blood moon, her silver-streaked hair whipping in a wind that hadn’t existed moments before. Then she started chanting.
“Umbra et Lux, Noctis et Aurora,
Venite ad vinculum, non ad bellum.
Sanguis et Stella, Mors et Vita,
In eclipsea vincite, non frangite.
Tenebrae, cede lumine.
Lumen, cede tenebris.
Non devoretis, non fugite.
Sed nectite, nectite, nectite.
Fae ignis, vampire umbra,
In uno corde, in uno anima.
Quod divisum est, nunc coniungite.
Quod pugnat, nunc paciscite.
Each syllable vibrated through the ground and into my bones.
The candles flared brighter. The runes on the ground ignited with silver light.
Power surged into the circle like a living thing.
The bond reacted immediately.
My spark surged upward, hot and wild, while Darius’s shadows rose to meet it — deep, endless, hungry.
They slammed together with brutal force. Pain exploded through my chest like fire and ice at once. I gasped, fingers tightening around his.
“Darius,” I whispered through gritted teeth.
“Hold on,” Darius growled, forehead pressed to mine. His eyes burned gold in the crimson moonlight.
“I’ve got you.”
The spell intensified.
Power swirled around us in violent spirals — starlight and shadow twisting, clashing, forcing themselves into one another.
The air grew thick and electric.
My light tried to burn his darkness away in blinding bursts.
His darkness fought back, trying to smother my spark in suffocating cold.
The two forces collided again and again, each impact sending fresh waves of agony through every nerve in my body.
I cried out.
Darius’s hands tightened around mine even further..
His shadows lashed wildly, but he kept them leashed, refusing to let them pull away from my light.
“Stay with me,” he rasped, voice strained.
“Fight it with me, Selene. Don’t let go.”
The pain peaked.
It felt like being torn in half and stitched back together with barbed wire.
My spark screamed.
His shadows roared.
The rope around our hands glowed white-hot, burning into our skin, but neither of us released our grip.
Roxy shouted from outside the circle, voice tight with worry.
“You’ve got this! Don’t you dare let go!”
Xander stood like a sentinel, fists clenched, eyes never leaving us.
“Hold on!”
Morgana’s chanting grew louder, more commanding.
"Lumen in tenebris, tenebrae in lumine.
Non bellum. Non mors.
Sed aeternum vinculum.
Aeternum. Aeternum. Aeternum.
Balance! Yield to each other! Force the light and dark to weave!”
The world narrowed to the space between us.
The clash became a war inside my body — light scorching, darkness drowning, the spell hammering them together again and again. Tears streamed down my face.
Darius’s breathing was ragged, his forehead slick with sweat despite his vampire nature.
“I’ve got you,” he repeated through clenched teeth.
“I’ve got you, mate. Don’t fucking let go!”