Page 51

51

XIRATH

T he ceremonial hall looms ahead, its spires jutting toward the storm-cloaked sky. The stone walls, sleek and unyielding, echo with the rhythmic chants of dark elves weaving their cursed magic. Blood drips from my blade, a trail of crimson marking my path through the slaughtered guards who tried to stand in my way. Their bodies litter the courtyard behind me, limp and broken, the scent of iron thick in the air.

They were nothing. A mere delay.

She is inside.

My mate.

The realization hits like a strike to the chest, raw and unforgiving. It makes no sense. I tested her, and wasn’t my mate. But I feel it, the bond reaching for me, weak, corrupted, struggling under the force of another.

Jalith.

He is trying to take her from me.

The great doors shudder as I slam against them, the stone cracking under the force. Magic swirls around the threshold, a ward meant to keep intruders out. Pitiful.

I snarl and dig my claws into the crack between the doors, muscles coiling as I rip them from their hinges. The temple shudders, and the elves inside turn in unison, their chanting breaking into gasps of shock.

I step into the hall, blood-soaked and seething.

Jalith stands at the altar, his violet robes flowing like liquid darkness, his smirk sharp enough to slice through bone. He watches me with amusement, one hand lazily resting on Seren’s shoulder.

She kneels at his feet. The collar around her neck glows, tendrils of magic snaking through her body, forcing her submission. Her fingers dig into the marble, her entire body locked in rebellion, but the spell keeps her still.

I see the fear in her eyes. The fury.

I feel it, the wrongness in the air, the distortion in the bond that should belong to me.

Jalith chuckles. "Ah, Xirath. You’re late."

The smugness in his voice scrapes against my nerves like a rusted blade.

My gaze flickers to Seren. The magic coils around her like chains, binding her soul, suffocating the tether that should only ever belong to me. I bare my teeth.

"You dare tamper with a mate bond?"

The laughter that leaves him is mocking. "Mate bond? How delightful. You truly think she belongs to you?" He crouches beside her, tilting her chin up, his nails skimming over her skin. She jerks back, but the spell holds her in place.

A deep growl rumbles through me, rattling the very foundation of the chamber.

Jalith exhales, exasperated. "Really, Xirath, you of all people should understand. Mates are fate-bound, not chosen. You have no claim on her." His fingers trail lower, just enough to make my vision blur with rage. "I do."

The runes on the floor flicker, magic rising once more, thick and cloying. The spell tightens, forcing Seren closer to him. Her body trembles with the effort to fight it, but it’s relentless.

Her lips part, and in a raw, shaking voice, she gasps, "Xirath?—"

The world snaps.

My chest erupts with heat, a power I have never known unraveling inside me, raw and primal. My bones shift, skin stretching, reshaping. The shadows curling beneath my skin surge forward, overtaking me, spilling into something monstrous.

Jalith’s smirk vanishes as the stone cracks beneath my feet, as the very air trembles under of what I have become.

I step forward, the last remnants of my armor crumbling from my body. My transformation is absolute, horned and massive, darkness seething through my veins, claws extending, my fangs gleaming like obsidian.

This is the gift of my house’ bloodline, and I’m thankful for it as it makes me and my clan formidable warriors.

Jalith takes an instinctive step back.

"Ah," he murmurs. "There it is."

He grins.

"Kill him."

The guards surge forward, their blades gleaming with cursed runes.

I move faster.

The first dark elf meets my claws, his throat ripped clean before he can even register the strike. The second barely raises his weapon before my tail lashes, splintering his ribs in an explosion of blood and shattered bone.

More come. They are nothing.

I carve through them like parchment, tearing limbs, crushing skulls, shattering bones with each devastating blow. Their screams fill the hall, but it is not enough.

My eyes lock onto Jalith.

The fear finally seeps into his features.

He raises a hand, summoning tendrils of darkness, throwing a wave of magic toward me. The spell collides, wrapping around me, trying to crush me, to suffocate me in its grasp.

I take another step.

Jalith’s expression falters.

I reach through the spell and rip it apart like thread.

He barely dodges as I lunge, claws grazing his shoulder. He spins, conjuring another spell, but I am faster. My tail slams into him, sending him crashing into the altar. The force cracks the stone, his body denting the surface.

Blood drips from his mouth as he straightens, eyes wild.

"You—" he snarls. "You should not?—"

"I will rip you apart," I promise.

He summons a dagger, the tip gleaming with dark magic. "Try."

We collide.

Claws meet steel, spells crackling against my skin, each strike shattering the floor beneath us. Jalith is fast, his precision lethal, but it does not matter. He is fighting a goddamn force of nature.

I catch his wrist mid-swing, twisting. The dagger clatters to the floor.

He grits his teeth.

I slam him into the stone. His body crumples under the force, blood pooling beneath him.

Jalith coughs, a broken laugh slipping through his lips. "It’s too late, you beast. The bond is formed."

Seren cries out, her body jerking as the spell tightens around her.

"No," I growl.

Jalith grins through his bloodied teeth. "You may have won this fight, Xirath. But she is still mine."

The runes beneath her glow again, magic curling like shackles.

I don’t think. I don’t hesitate.

I carve my claws through Jalith’s chest, my fingers wrapping around his heart.

His smirk falters, turning into something strangled, desperate. His lips part in disbelief, but no sound leaves them.

I rip his heart free.

Jalith’s body slumps forward.

The runes flicker. Then they die.

The spell shatters.

Seren collapses.

I’m there before she hits the floor, catching her, pulling her into my arms.

Her pulse is weak.

But she is mine.