Luna Everleigh's POV
***
A roar split the air.
Rhydian.
He crashed into Seraphine from the side, his body a blur of motion, claws slicing through the dark tendrils she sent spiraling toward him.
She barely had time to react before I struck again, a silver arc of energy slicing through her defenses.
She stumbled, her expression twisting with fury. "No," she spat. "You don't win."
But she was losing.
The darkness writhed around her, no longer an all-consuming force, but something brittle. Something dying.
She knew it.
"You were never meant to survive this, Luna," Seraphine snarled, desperation creeping into her voice. "This power—this destiny—it will destroy you."
I lifted my chin. "No," I said, "it will free me."
Seraphine lunged one last time.
I raised my hands, and with a final burst of silver fire, I let the light consume her.
A scream tore through the night—one last echo of her pain, her vengeance—before she shattered into nothing.
Silence fell.
The battlefield stretched before us, a wasteland of shadow and fading echoes.
I turned, my chest rising and falling with ragged breaths.
Rhydian was already there, reaching for me, his hands warm and steady against my face.
"You're okay," he breathed, searching my gaze.
I nodded. "We're okay."
His arms wrapped around me, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I let myself believe it.
But then—
The wind shifted.
And high above us, the moon turned a deep, blood-red.
***
To be continued...