Chapter 6 The Eclipse Pact

The air inside the ruined chamber pulsed with ancient dread.

Seraphina stood motionless, her body coiled with instinct, every nerve alight with magic. Killian's blood soaked her sleeves, the iron scent mingling with the fire curling at her fingertips. The creature that stepped from the void was no ordinary nightmare-it was old, older than the Blood Wars, older than the Moon Oaths, perhaps older than death itself.

It towered nearly to the vaulted ceiling, bones twisting like vines beneath stretched blackened skin. Its mouth held no teeth, only a spiral of shadow. And its eyes-its gods-forsaken eyes-were suns without warmth, orbs of burnt gold eclipsed in their own hatred.

"Bride," it rasped again, voice like a memory of thunder dragged across stone.

Killian growled beside her, trying to rise, but she pressed a hand to his chest.

"No. Stay down," she whispered.

The creature stepped forward, its clawed hands dragging the stone floor. Chains trailed from its limbs, ancient and rusted, glowing with runes that pulsed in sync with the pendant at her neck.

It wasn't here to fight.

It was here to claim.

"You summoned me when the oath was broken," it whispered, its voice reverberating in her bones. "The bond-unforged before its time-has roused the old blood."

"What are you?" Seraphina demanded.

It tilted its head. "The first promise. The last punishment. I am the price of love bound in war."

Her heartbeat slowed.

Killian tried again to stand. "You don't touch her."

The creature's head turned toward him slowly. "You are the flame, broken. The Alpha chosen... but not yet worthy."

Killian snarled, staggering to his feet, but Seraphina raised her hand.

"Why now?" she asked the creature, voice low. "Why appear now?"

"The Council has desecrated the seal. They seek to claim what was meant to sleep. And in doing so... they call to me."

Seraphina's fingers clenched. "And me? Why do you call me Bride?"

"Because the curse was never just a punishment. It was a bargain. The bride bears the flame to bind the beast. You are that flame."

The runes on the pendant surged-hot, bright, radiant.

Killian touched her shoulder. "This... this is what they were afraid of. Not just us being bonded. But what it would awaken in you."

The creature stepped closer, its clawed finger pointing to the obsidian pendant. "The Key has chosen. And the end begins."

Suddenly, the ground split beneath their feet. Screams echoed from the prison halls. Not human. Not wolf. Something else.

The creature didn't flinch.

"Choose, Bride. Bind the flame... or watch it consume you."

Seraphina's eyes blazed with fury. "I'll do neither. I will master it."

A pause.

Then the creature grinned-lips splitting too wide for its face.

"Then may your soul burn brighter than the stars."

It lunged.

Seraphina caught its wrist mid-air. Magic exploded in a sphere of white fire. Killian shielded his eyes as light filled the chamber. The walls shook. Chains shattered.

And when the smoke cleared-

The creature was gone.

But something had changed.

The obsidian pendant no longer hung lifeless. It had cracked... and from it, red fire flickered.

Seraphina turned slowly. Killian met her eyes-and the fear in them wasn't for himself.

It was for her.

"You broke the seal," he whispered.

"No," she said softly. "We did."

And the storm outside... finally broke.

The thunder rolled as the skies above the ruined fortress cracked open like a weeping wound. Rain poured down in sheets, washing away the blood but not the weight of what had just been unleashed.

Seraphina stood in the center of it all-her cloak torn, her body trembling not from weakness, but from the sheer force of the power now coursing through her veins. Fire and moonlight warred beneath her skin, clashing violently, each demanding dominance.

Killian limped toward her, his shoulder seeping blood through his shirt, but his gaze never wavered from her face.

"You've changed," he murmured, voice rough.

Seraphina turned to him, and in her eyes, the flames burned crimson. "No. I've awakened."

The pendant around her neck pulsed like a living thing-no longer obsidian black, but glowing with a heartbeat of its own. Its cracked surface throbbed with heat, spilling tendrils of ancient flame down her chest.

Killian reached out instinctively to touch her. "Let me help-"

The fire lashed out between them like a serpent, stopping just short of his chest.

She gasped. "I... I didn't mean-"

Killian stepped back, his jaw tight. "It's not you. It's what they placed inside you. The prophecy. The seal. The curse. They made you into something more."

Seraphina's throat tightened. "No. They made me into a weapon."

Wind howled through the shattered tower. Stones began to crack underfoot as the ancient fortress-the prison that had held the beast-responded to her magic. The ground was becoming unstable.

"We have to leave," Killian said, glancing at the growing fissures in the walls.

But Seraphina didn't move. Her gaze had turned toward the darkened archway, the one the creature had emerged from-the original seal that bound the First Flame.

She stepped closer to it. The air grew thick, metallic. The scent of burning magic clung to every breath.

Killian reached her side in three long strides. "Seraphina, we don't know what's down there."

"I need to know. If I am what they say I am... then I need to understand it."

Killian's jaw clenched. "Then we go together."

They descended the crumbling steps, the walls covered in language neither of them could read, though Seraphina felt the words vibrating inside her mind. The deeper they went, the more alive the air became, like it remembered every soul who had walked there... and mourned them.

Flashes of visions struck Seraphina as her fingertips grazed the wall-women cloaked in flame, men kneeling before a burning altar, a monstrous being sealed in chains of moonstone and fire.

At the heart of the chamber below, they found the altar.

An obsidian slab cracked in half, still bleeding molten magic from its core.

Hovering above it, bound in flame, was a book-its cover sealed in runes, its pages untouched by time.

Killian's breath caught. "That's..."

"The Book of Brides," Seraphina finished. "The one from the legend."

It hovered toward her.

Her fingers curled around the binding, and the flames bowed to her touch.

As soon as she opened it, the chamber reacted. The torches lining the walls flared to life. The earth shook with a low groan. Words etched themselves into the page, glowing as if inked in starlight:

> When the bond is forged in defiance,

The Bride shall awaken the Flame.

She shall break the seals of old,

And call forth the Eclipse Pact.

Killian stiffened. "The Eclipse Pact? That's the ancient vow of destruction. It's what started the Blood Wars."

Seraphina's voice dropped. "It was also... a way to end them."

More pages turned. With each line, memories not her own filled her mind-brides torn from their lovers, sacrifices to keep the curse at bay, each one stronger than the last... until they failed.

All had failed.

Except her.

The book trembled in her grasp.

Then she saw it-a blank page... slowly filling with fresh ink. A new prophecy. One written in real time.

> The Alpha shall bleed, the Bride shall burn,

And when the moon turns black,

The ancient one shall rise.

Only the bonded flame may stand against it.

Suddenly, a massive crack tore through the wall behind them, and the very air twisted as something huge pressed against the other side.

Killian pulled Seraphina behind him. "We're not alone."

The wall split open in a blast of force.

And from the dust stepped a figure neither of them had seen before-but somehow both recognized.

A man dressed in silver and ash. Skin like polished obsidian. Eyes bleeding starlight. Behind him trailed a cloak stitched from shadows and fire.

He bowed deeply.

"My bride," he said to Seraphina, voice silky and strange. "You finally returned."

Killian lunged forward, claws erupting from his fingers. "Get away from her-"

The man raised a single hand, and Killian flew across the chamber, slammed into stone with bone-cracking force.

Seraphina screamed, fire flooding from her chest in a burst of raw fury.

The man didn't even flinch. He stepped through the flames as if they were mist.

"You carry the flame... but not the memory. That will come in time."

She raised the book between them. "Who are you?"

He smiled, cruel and beautiful. "I am the Eclipse. And you, my love... are the reason I was reborn."

Her heart pounded.

Killian tried to rise, blood streaking down his temple. "Seraphina... don't let him take you-"

But the man's hand closed around her wrist.

And in an instant-they vanished in a swirl of black and crimson flame.

The air thickened like velvet soaked in blood and ash. The ancient being's form pulsed with shadows, its breath drawing the heat from the chamber. A low, inhuman growl reverberated through the stone, not from its throat, but from the very fabric of the realm it stood in.

"Bride," it repeated, voice coiling like a serpent in Seraphina's mind.

Killian instinctively stepped in front of her, though he was still weakened. His skin bore deep lacerations, but his presence-his Alpha's force-burned with defiance.

Seraphina's hand lit with flame, her palm raised, obsidian pendant pulsing violently.

The creature did not flinch.

Instead, it bowed.

One knee, then the other. A god kneeling.

"You have awakened the pact," it said, voice a collision of tongues and time. "The bloodline calls to the Old Flame. The bride of the Eclipse has risen. And we are bound."

Seraphina's fire wavered. "Bound? To what?"

"To the coming war," the entity whispered. "And to me. I am the Keeper of the Eclipse Pact. You are flame reborn... but the cost has yet to be paid."

A rush of visions surged through her skull-futures torn in fire, wolves falling, a throne of bone and ash. She gasped, falling to her knees.

Killian caught her, his arms trembling. "Enough," he growled, voice breaking under the weight of pain and rage. "You will not take her."

The Keeper tilted its head. "I do not take. I awaken. She is already mine."

Seraphina's magic flared, sending a shockwave that cracked the stone beneath them. "No," she hissed. "I belong to no one."

The chamber quaked. From above, tremors echoed. The Council had sent guards-mages, beasts, and creatures twisted by forbidden runes. The real attack had begun.

Darius's voice filled her mind through the shadow-link. "Seraphina. You must leave. The wards are collapsing. Get Killian out. Now."

But the Eclipse Keeper stepped forward, spreading its arms wide.

"I will clear your path," it said. "But you must return when the sky bleeds. The pact will demand its price."

Before she could speak, the Keeper slammed its clawed hands into the floor. Darkness erupted-pure, living, ravenous. Screams echoed as the black tide surged upward, devouring everything in its wake except her and Killian.

Seraphina reached down and lifted him.

"I've got you," she whispered.

He looked into her eyes. "I knew you'd come."

The gates of the prison crumbled behind them. And as they crossed the burning threshold, the Eclipse moon rose in full above-blood-red and pulsing.

A new war had begun.

The night howled around them as Seraphina and Killian emerged from the ruins of the Forsaken Prison. The Eclipse moon loomed overhead-no longer just a celestial phenomenon, but a harbinger. The red light painted the snow in blood, shadows stretching into grotesque shapes as the ground trembled beneath their feet.

The taste of sulfur and old magic lingered in the air. Something had been unleashed-something ancient.

Killian groaned, his arm draped over Seraphina's shoulder. "We're not safe yet. They'll be waiting."

Seraphina narrowed her gaze. "Let them come."

She thrust her free hand forward, summoning a protective veil of searing white fire. It swirled around them in a cocoon, shielding them from incoming arrows that turned to ash mid-air. From the trees emerged figures cloaked in midnight blue-Council enforcers, warlocks and shadow-walkers. Their runes glowed like fresh scars, dripping with power not meant for mortals.

Killian tried to stand tall, but his body trembled. His shirt was torn, blood soaking through the bandages hastily wrapped around him in the prison. "We'll have to fight."

Seraphina's voice dropped to a fierce whisper. "Not we. I'll handle them. You get out of here."

"No." His voice, though cracked, rang with finality. "You're not fighting alone. Never again."

With a groan of defiance, Killian stepped forward. His aura flickered-faint, but enough. He raised his palm. The mark of the Eclipse had branded itself onto his chest, pulsing in rhythm with Seraphina's own flame-born bond.

Together, they raised their powers.

Seraphina's flame met Killian's lunar pulse-and the night exploded.

From her fingers, tendrils of white and gold flame lanced out like living serpents, entwining with the blue-silver essence of Killian's bloodline. The two magics combined mid-air, forming a new power-a burning eclipse. It struck the advancing enforcers with terrifying precision, unraveling their shadows into mist.

But the Council had not sent just pawns.

From the rear of the battalion, a cloaked figure stepped forward. Tall. Silent. The enforcers dropped to their knees in submission.

Seraphina felt it instantly-an aura cold and vast, like a void wrapped in flesh.

"Warden Malrick," Killian whispered.

The figure removed his hood. His face was carved like stone, eyes hollow with ancient knowledge. His gaze fixed on Seraphina-not with hatred, but intrigue.

"You defy fate," he said, his voice flat. "You awaken things better left buried."

"Maybe fate needs a little defiance," she shot back.

He raised his hand-and the wind died.

The trees stilled. The moon stopped moving.

Time paused.

Malrick's voice filled the space between seconds. "You've forged the Eclipse Pact. You've bound the Flame and the Wolf. Do you even know what that means?"

She didn't respond. But her heart thundered in answer.

"It means," Malrick continued, stepping closer, "you have become the key. And both sides of the prophecy will now hunt you. The Council... and the Forgotten Flame."

Then he vanished.

Time snapped forward.

The ground cracked open beneath them-sigils lighting up in hellish crimson. A summoning circle, carved beneath the forest itself. Seraphina turned to run-

-but it was too late.

Vines of corrupted shadow lashed upward, grabbing her ankles, wrists, throat. She gasped as her flame sputtered, caught between planes. Killian roared and leapt toward her-but the magic hurled him back against a tree, unconscious.

And from the circle... came a figure.

Not Malrick.

Not a Council weapon.

But her.

Seraphina stared in horror.

The woman that rose from the circle wore her face.

But older. Wilder. And crowned in black fire.

The version of herself that had given in to the curse.

The Bride of the End.

"You were warned," the double whispered with a smile.

Then the world shattered.

The room trembled-not with the force of nature but with the shuddering pull of ancient magic that danced on the edge of memory. Seraphina's breath caught as the dark figure stepped closer, the eclipsed light casting a shimmering aura around him, illuminating the hollows of his high cheekbones and the eldritch runes pulsing beneath his skin like molten gold.

Killian's arm instinctively moved across her, protectively, but Seraphina was already stepping forward, drawn by a gravity far deeper than fear.

"You..." she whispered, voice thin but unwavering. "You were in my dreams. The flames. The voice in the veil."

The figure bowed his head slightly, regal yet shadowed. "You are not mistaken, Bride of the Flame. I am Erevan, last sentinel of the Eclipse Pact. And your awakening... has begun what cannot be undone."

Killian growled lowly. "I don't care what pact you speak of. If you mean her harm, I'll tear your shadow from your bones."

Erevan didn't flinch. Instead, he regarded Killian with mild interest, as though sizing up the Alpha not as an opponent, but as a necessary piece in an intricate cosmic puzzle.

"No harm shall come to her," Erevan murmured. "But she is no longer merely your mate. She is the Conduit. The convergence of bloodlines long thought lost. The Bride of the Flame, yes... but also the Eclipse Keeper."

Seraphina blinked, trembling with magic building beneath her skin. "What does that mean?"

Erevan turned his golden gaze upon her. "It means that the war you thought was over never truly ended. And now, with your awakening, both realms-the light and the cursed-have taken notice."

From behind them, the ancient mirror trembled. The glass warped, and suddenly, a different world shimmered into view-towering mountains veined with light, skies woven with violet mist, and legions of silver-eyed warriors kneeling before a burning altar.

Seraphina gasped. "That's..."

"The Celestial Realm," Erevan said, finishing her thought. "And they will come. For you. For him. For the power you now share."

Killian's hand gripped hers tightly. "Then let them come."

But Seraphina felt it-that there was more. Much more.

"Why me?" she asked softly. "Why now?"

Erevan raised a hand, and the mirror shattered into a cascade of stardust, swirling around her as if drawn to her very soul. "Because you carry not one prophecy... but two. One born of love. One born of ruin. And only one can survive."

At that moment, the entire manor shuddered violently. Alarms blared. Roars echoed in the distance-unfamiliar, otherworldly. The torches on the walls flickered violently, casting strange shadows that crawled with sentience.

Killian turned sharply. "We're under attack."

Erevan didn't look surprised. "They found her faster than I anticipated. The Eclipse Hunters."

Seraphina's heartbeat skyrocketed. "Who?"

But there was no time.

The walls split apart in a blur of heat and shrieking metal. A horde of masked figures cloaked in twilight energy surged forward, weapons glinting like obsidian. Their presence radiated void magic-leeching warmth, silencing light.

Killian's wolf burst through his skin with a feral roar, a massive black beast cloaked in blue flame. Seraphina's hands ignited with silver fire, wild and untamed. She didn't flinch. Not anymore.

She embraced it.

The first wave of enemies struck-and was flung back by a tidal wave of magic as Killian leapt into the fray, claws tearing through shadow and flame alike.

Seraphina raised her palms. Her eyes gleamed with new power, and a ring of glowing sigils formed beneath her feet. She didn't remember the spell. It remembered her.

Erevan whispered an incantation, stepping into the battle with blades of dusklight flickering in each hand.

The room became chaos-a symphony of power, blood, and purpose.

Then, from the heart of the shattered ceiling, she descended.

Cloaked in obsidian silk, with a face veiled in smoke and wings of ash stretching to the edges of the hall, the enemy's queen touched down without a sound.

"Seraphina," she said, her voice cold and lovely. "You bear the Eclipse. Surrender, and I will spare your Alpha."

Seraphina stood taller, heart thundering. "I'll never surrender."

The Queen smiled. "Then the pact must be fulfilled... in blood."

With a flick of her wrist, a curse circle spun through the air-honing in on Killian, who was mid-leap, claws outstretched.

"NO!" Seraphina screamed, but the curse struck.

Killian's body seized in midair, suspended in violet flames. His wolf form writhed, glowing cracks forming along his spine.

Seraphina's rage exploded-literally. The ground beneath her cracked. The sky above the manor opened with a roar of thunder. Her flames turned gold-the color of pure elemental fury.

She raced forward, breaking through the Queen's defenses with magic she hadn't yet learned, hadn't yet mastered.

But it responded to her.

"Release him!" she shouted, tears burning down her cheeks.

The Queen smirked. "Then make the sacrifice."

Erevan froze. "No, not yet. She's not ready-"

But Seraphina made her choice.

"Take me instead," she said.

The curse flame shifted instantly, rushing toward her.

Killian fell, his body limp but alive.

And Seraphina?

Seraphina screamed as the magic consumed her, wrapping her in the Queen's veil, pulling her into the rift that had opened behind the throne.

Killian's howl tore through the night.

And just like that...

She was gone.

The air cracked like thunder, heavy with power. Seraphina's breath caught as the ancient sigils beneath her feet shimmered to life-an intricate web of flame-gold etchings swirling with starlight. She stood within the circle now fully awakened, her hand still intertwined with Killian's, their pact complete. But the world around them didn't quiet-it roared.

A sudden hush fell over the room, and then... shadows bled from the edges of the hall.

From the broken columns to the torn velvet banners, tendrils of obsidian mist coiled like smoke, slithering in serpentine patterns. The flame in Killian's palm pulsed, responding instinctively to the dark presence now manifesting in front of them.

Seraphina's eyes narrowed, her spine straightening.

Something was coming through.

The elder Fates, still encircling the pact, hissed in low, forgotten tongues, their woven cloaks shimmering as if drenched in stardust. Even they-eternal, indifferent-stepped back.

"Killian," Seraphina whispered, tightening her grip. "It's not over yet."

A hollow laugh echoed from the mist. Low, ancient. Malevolent.

Then, from the darkness, a figure emerged.

He was tall, unnaturally so. His cloak appeared stitched from torn shadows, his skin pale like moon-bleached bone. But it was his eyes-ancient pools of crimson with swirling black centers-that struck a chill into Seraphina's core.

"You invoked the Eclipse Pact," he said, voice like fractured obsidian scraping steel. "And now you've awakened more than just your bond."

Killian stepped forward, shielding Seraphina instinctively. "Who are you?"

The figure smiled-thin, sharp. "I am the forgotten prince of the under sky. The one sealed beneath the Eclipse to keep the Flame Bride from becoming more than myth."

Seraphina's heart thundered.

"You know who I am," she whispered. "You were in the old tomes. The Betrayer's Shadow."

The being bowed mockingly. "And you, my dear... you are more dangerous than they realized. You've unlocked the pact, and now... the balance breaks."

Suddenly, power surged from Seraphina, her body lifted off the ground by invisible force. Her markings glowed brighter than ever-her eyes blazing with silver and molten gold. Wind spiraled around her like a cyclone, rippling her gown like fire.

"You will not touch my mate," she said, her voice two-toned-hers and something ancient fused as one.

The room fractured with light and shadow colliding.

From her palm, a vortex of flaming starlight burst outward. The Betrayer's Shadow hissed, shielding himself with wings formed of pitch-black fog. Still, the energy scorched the stone floors, burned through the air, and lit the heavens with raw force.

Killian's eyes widened-not with fear, but awe.

Seraphina was changing.

Becoming.

Not just a Luna... not just a bride.

But the embodiment of the Eclipse Flame itself.

She landed slowly, her breath steady despite the explosion of energy. "This isn't your world anymore," she said, her voice calm but absolute. "It's mine now."

The Betrayer's Shadow growled. "Then you'd best be ready for war."

And in a swirl of darkness, he vanished-leaving behind nothing but black petals of night and a lingering taste of dread.

Silence held for only a heartbeat before the Fates stepped forward, faces grim.

"You've set a chain in motion," one rasped. "The prophecy no longer holds."

"What do you mean?" Killian demanded.

"She's become more than what fate bound," the second Fate murmured. "The curse is shifting. So is time. Others will feel it-the other realms. And they will come."

"Who?" Seraphina asked.

"The Originals," the third Fate replied. "The rulers before the curses. The ones who sealed the heavens."

And as the three Fates vanished in ribbons of violet wind, Seraphina turned to Killian, the bond between them a palpable thread of heat and light.

"They're coming for me," she said quietly. "For us."

He stepped close, brushing his forehead to hers. "Let them come. I'll burn the sky before I lose you again."

But even as their moment melted into sweet silence, the eclipse seal at the chamber's far end began to splinter again-not from within, but from beyond.

Cracks spread like veins of lightning, revealing a glimpse of a blood-red void on the other side.

And from that void... a voice-whispering, trembling, impossibly familiar-called Seraphina's name.

A voice she hadn't heard since her childhood.

"Mother?"

The seal shattered.