Chapter 18 The Lost and the Living
The canyon spat them out into a wide basin of broken stone. Smoke still hung low, catching in their throats. The relic’s hum quickened, a pulse of alarm that vibrated through Aurora’s bones like a warning she couldn’t ignore.
“There,” Jasper said, pointing toward a collapsed outcropping.
Aurora sprinted ahead, boots skidding on gravel. Something moved under the rubble an arm, streaked with blood and dust. She heaved a boulder aside and found Kai half-buried, his fur still matted along his forearms, eyes burning gold even in exhaustion.
“Kai!” She dropped to her knees, hauling him upright. “Where’s Lira?”
He coughed hard, spitting blood and grit. “Taken… north ridge. Morvath scouts. Too many.”
Jasper crouched beside them. “How long ago?”
“An hour. Maybe less.” Kai’s gaze flicked to the velvet case at Jasper’s side, then to the faint red mark glowing through Aurora’s sleeve. “You bonded the relic.”
Aurora nodded once. “It didn’t give us much choice.”
Kai’s jaw tightened. “Then you’ve painted a target on your back. Morvath won’t stop until they have it.”
“Then we don’t let them,” Jasper said.
Kai gave a rough laugh that ended in a groan. “You sound like her.”
Aurora pressed a hand to his shoulder. “Save your strength. We’ll get her back.”
Kai’s eyes softened, catching her in that feral way wolves look at their alpha. “You shouldn’t have come for us.”
“You’re family,” she said simply.
He looked past her to Jasper. “You trust him now?”
Aurora’s reply was quiet but sure. “With my life.”
Jasper’s expression flickered at that something unguarded, something that almost hurt to hear, his gaze locking on hers with a depth that made the air thicken. The space between them felt charged, no touch, just the weight of her words hanging there, his breath catching in a way that mirrored her own unspoken admission. The relic’s hum deepened, syncing with their heartbeats, a silent acknowledgment of the bond’s pull.
Kai managed a small grin. “Then the world really is ending.”
The relic pulsed, impatient, its glow shimmering under their skin like a shared secret. Aurora stood, scanning the north ridge. A faint shimmer rippled through the air there magic, active and moving, the color of Morvath’s blue light.
“She’s still alive,” Jasper said, reading her thoughts. “The bond between vampires hums when one’s in danger.”
Aurora adjusted her grip on the velvet case. “Then we move now.”
Kai tried to stand and failed, collapsing with a grunt. “I’ll slow you down.”
“You’ll die if we leave you,” she said. “And I’ve done enough burying for one lifetime.”
He bared his teeth in a tired smile. “Still bossy.”
“Still right.” She turned to Jasper. “Can you stabilize him?”
Jasper knelt, placing a hand against Kai’s chest. The relic’s glow spread through his fingers, mending what it could. The air around them shimmered faintly with red light and heat, the Lunasanguine weaving energy between them. Kai gasped as the pain eased, his wounds closing with a faint scar.
“That’s new,” Kai said, flexing his arm.
“Side effect of being half a relic now,” Jasper said, his voice steady, but his eyes flicked to Aurora, a silent question in their depths, the heat from the ritual lingering in the air between them.
Aurora watched them one vampire, one wolf bound by power that shouldn’t exist. The sight sent a strange ache through her chest, the relic’s hum echoing her unspoken thoughts, its rhythm matching the quiet pull between her and Jasper. The space between them felt alive, no touch, just the weight of his gaze on her, his breath syncing with hers in a way that made her pulse quicken. She looked away before it became too much.
“Enough,” she said. “You’ve got him breathing. That’s all we need.”
She helped Kai to his feet. “Find cover. Wait for the signal. We’ll bring her back.”
He caught her wrist before she could pull away. “You’re walking into a death trap.”
“Then I’ll bite first.”
Kai laughed weakly and let go. “Don’t get soft on me, Alpha.”
She gave his shoulder a brief squeeze, then turned to Jasper. “You ready?”
He nodded, eyes bright with something unspoken, his gaze holding hers a beat too long, the relic’s hum amplifying the tension. “Always.”
They started toward the ridge. The relic’s hum deepened again, every heartbeat between them growing faster, hotter, until the air itself seemed to burn. The path steepened, rocks loose underfoot, but their steps synced effortlessly, the Lunasanguine weaving their movements into one.
Aurora didn’t look back, but her voice carried in the wind. “We find her or we make them regret taking her.”
The sky darkened, clouds rolling in like a bad omen. The ridge ahead pulsed faintly with blue light the color of House Morvath’s magic.
And somewhere beyond it, Lira screamed, the sound echoing through the relic’s hum, a call that made Aurora’s blood boil and Jasper’s eyes harden with shared resolve. The space between them narrowed, not physically, but emotionally the unspoken tension a flame that burned brighter with every step, the relic feeding on their growing connection, turning it into power for the battle ahead.
A vision flickered from the velvet case: Lira, chained in a Morvath transport, her wings pinned, eyes blazing with fury, . The image faded, but the relic’s hum urged them on, a promise of reunion or revenge.
Aurora glanced at Jasper, her voice low. “We end this together.”
His reply was a whisper, loaded with emotion. “Together.”
They crested the ridge, the transport visible in the distance, guarded by Morvath shadows. The relic flared, ready for the fight, the tension between Aurora and Jasper a weapon sharper than any blade.