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Elyria presses close, silver flickers forming around her palms. “I am not worthless,” she hisses, tears of rage glinting. “And I won’t let you hurt him.”

The two enforcer gargoyles lunge past the Alpha, presumably to neutralize me or keep Elyria from attacking. Elyria flings a bolt of silver at one, driving him back with a yelp. I thrust forward, dagger in hand, intercepting the second. Pain rips through my stumps, but adrenaline surges. I slash across the gargoyle’s chest, forcing him to reel away, growling curses.

The Alpha stands back, staff humming with malevolent power. “I will not let your union stand,” he snarls. “You defy the clan’s very creed.” He directs a bolt of red lightning at Elyria, trying to cut her down. I leap between them, bracing for the impact. Agony rakes my nerves. But I remain upright, gritting my teeth.He can’t kill us so easily. We’re stronger together.

Elyria, tears shining, channels a swirl of silver flame around me, offsetting the red lightning in a crackling flash. My battered body wants to collapse, but I force myself to keep moving, parrying another enforcer’s swing with my dagger.I will not yield.The synergy of our bond, sealed mere hours ago, hums in my blood, dulling the worst of the Alpha’s wrath.

In a flurry of savage intensity, the two enforcers converge, one aiming for me, the other for Elyria. She blasts hers with a wave of light, sending him crashing into the cave wall. I lunge at the one attacking me, ignoring the burn in my back. I bury the dagger into his side. His eyes widen, a muffled gurgle escapingbefore he collapses. Guilt pricks me—he was once a clan brother. But there’s no room for mercy now.We can’t let them kill us.

The Alpha roars, staff blazing, arcs of lightning crackling in the confined cave. Chunks of stone collapse from the ceiling, sending dust and pebbles raining down. Elyria cries out, shielding me from a falling boulder with a silver barrier. My chest lurches in gratitude.

He steps forward, staff leveled, madness in his obsidian eyes. “I should have ended you at birth, worthless traitor,” he spits at me. “I’ll bury you and this purna together.” Another surge of red lightning courses toward us. Elyria intercepts, silver flame colliding in a brilliant flare that nearly blinds me.

For a heartbeat, they stand locked in a clash of energies—her silver wave, his red storm. My heart hammers.This could destroy the entire cave, bury us all.The floor quakes underfoot. Elyria’s face twists in strain, tears streaming, the collar’s melted runes sparking. She leans on me physically, her magic weaving around both of us. The Alpha snarls, pushing harder. My mind screams:We must strike now or be crushed!

Summoning a ragged cry, I push forward, ignoring the blasts scorching my arms. The synergy from our lovemaking ignites a final well of strength. I see the perfect moment—his staff is directed fully at Elyria’s wave, leaving his flank unguarded. Gritting my teeth, I lunge, driving my dagger at his chest with every ounce of force. He tries to twist away, but our energies lock him in place.

The blade sinks in, meeting resistance, a wet gasp escaping his lips. He staggers, staff faltering. Elyria’s silver onslaught slams into him, finishing the job. Crimson and silver swirl, an explosion of violent sparks that shakes the cave. I fling myself sideways, dragging Elyria with me, as the Alpha collapses in a roar of agony. Chunks of rock tumble from the ceiling, the staff’s glow extinguishing.

A hush follows, broken only by our ragged breathing. I scramble up, ignoring searing pain, eyes fixed on the Alpha’s fallen form. He coughs, black blood pooling around the dagger in his chest. His obsidian eyes, once so commanding, glaze with disbelief. “Korrin… you traitor… you damn… us all,” he rasps. Then his chest heaves, and the life drains from him, wings splayed in the dust.

Elyria collapses into my arms, trembling, eyes wide in shock. The red lightning dissipates, leaving only the faint glow of her silver aura flickering. The final vestiges wink out, and we’re left in a battered cave, the Alpha’s corpse at our feet.It’s over.The gargoyle clan’s hold on me is cut at the root. My chest tightens with sorrow and grim relief.No more Alpha to chase us.

We crouch there, panting, clinging to each other’s shoulders. My severed wing stumps burn with fresh agony, but a sense of overwhelming release floods me.He’s gone. The clan lost its iron fist.Elyria sniffles, tears streaming down her cheeks. I cradle her head to my shoulder, pressing a kiss to her hair. “We did it,” I murmur, voice shaking. “We’re free.”

She sobs softly, trembling in my arms. “It’s over. He can’t hurt us anymore.” Her arms tighten around me, face buried in my neck.She nearly died so many times because of him.Now, his body lies still.

A final glance at the fallen Alpha stirs a pang of old regret for my once-kin.If only he had relented, let me and Elyria live in peace.But the clan’s fear of purna overshadowed all reason. I close my eyes as my tears drop. We can’t change the past.We can only move forward.

Carefully, I help Elyria stand, ignoring the fresh wave of pain. We gather what remains of our things— a battered cloak, a half-empty water pouch. The cave is unstable, new cracks zigzagging across the walls from the magical clash. We must leave before it collapses entirely. With one last look at the Alpha’s body, we exitinto the open air, fresh dawn light kissing our faces. My heart lurches as I realize the sun rises anew for us—wingless, half-wild, bound by love, undefeated.

Elyria steadies me with a gentle arm, tears drying on her cheeks. The quiet mountains stretch before us. The clan might still exist in fragments, the dark elves remain a threat, but we ended the worst threat in a single savage stand. My head spins with exhaustion, body battered, but my spirit feels… light.We sealed our bond physically, forging a synergy that gave us the strength to stand against him.

She glances at me, a tentative smile tugging her swollen lips. “Shall we find somewhere calmer to rest?” she asks, voice quivering with hope.

I nod, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “Yes,” I whisper, ignoring the tight feeling in my throat. “No more running from them. If any remain, we’ll stand together as we did now. We have each other, and that’s enough to face any danger.”

A breeze ruffles Elyria’s hair, carrying the scent of pine and freedom. My severed wings ache, but the knowledge that I can walk forward with her at my side keeps me upright. She squeezes my hand, a silent vow that we’ll survive whatever the horizon brings.We are free, united in love, having toppled our greatest foe.

Slowly, we descend from the cave’s plateau, dawn’s brilliance illuminating the rugged path. Each step is laced with pain, yet brimming with the promise of a future no clan or empire can tear from us. Her purna magic hums gently in the air, no longer surging with destructive might but forming a protective, comforting aura. I lean into it, heart swelling.

The final notes of night fade, replaced by the golden wash of a new day. My chest tightens with gratitude.We lived.She threads her fingers through mine, guiding me with careful steps.We’re alive. We have each other, a bond sealed in blood and love.The memory of that final stand in the cave stirs a deep sense of closure. The Alpha once shaped my existence, but no more.

We cross a small stream, the water shimmering in dawn’s light. Elyria lowers me gently so I can drink, washing blood from my hands. I watch her, tears sliding down my face. She meets my gaze, a soft smile curving her lips, sorrow and hope mingling.This is the life we choose, forging a path unknown.But we choose it hand in hand, hearts bound by a vow that no collar, no wing, no clan edict can sever.

A hush of acceptance settles over us, as we rise and walk deeper into the mountains, leaving the fortress’s tyranny behind. Each step leads us toward the next chapter of our survival—a story no longer shackled by the Alpha’s demands, but guided by the fragile, indomitable flame of our united hearts.

17

ELYRIA

The morning sky stretches clear and pale, as if the world has shed the raging storms that devoured our nights. I stand at the edge of a jagged outcrop, surveying the valley that once echoed with the roar of gargoyle wings and the hiss of dark elf crossbows. Now, it’s eerily quiet. The tang of scorched stone and lingering magic clings to my nostrils, reminding me that only hours ago, these foothills convulsed under the final clash that toppled the Alpha’s reign.

My heart thuds with a dull ache, the residual tremor of adrenaline still coursing through my blood.He’s gone.The Alpha—obsidian-skinned, staff brimming with red lightning—laid to rest by Korrin’s dagger and my unleashed purna power. It happened so fast, yet also felt like an eternity. In those final moments, the entire fortress seemed to hold its breath as Korrin delivered that lethal strike, and I hammered the last wave of silver flame to seal our victory.He died, and with him, the twisted rule that demanded my execution.

The aftermath unfolds in slow ripples. Gargoyles, once so fearsome in their tight phalanxes, break ranks and scatter across these rugged slopes. Some slink away in shame, others flee infear. No new alpha emerges in the chaos. Without their leader, their cohesion fractures—packs dissolving into individuals with no unifying cause.They have no reason to fight once the alpha is gone.I watch from the ridge as small clusters vanish into the mountains, carrying their wounded. The great fortress that once loomed behind us is silent, half-collapsed from the battles that raged inside.It belongs to ghosts now.

From the opposite corner of the battlefield, I glimpse the dark elves retreating in ragged lines. Their crossbows droop at their sides, exhausted or broken, their sleek armor dusty and dented. I don’t know if they slink back to their twisted fortress or scatter into the lower forests. Either way, they’ve lost the impetus to remain. Their uneasy alliance with the gargoyles collapsed the moment the alpha’s staff fell from his dead claws.They have no reason to keep hunting me now—too many losses, too little reward.