Lucien woke just before dawn.
His eyes snapped open all at once — not a slow blink, not a dazed stir. Just wide, full, alert.But they weren't silver.
They were black, rimmed in violet, flickering like smoke inside glass.
Amara froze where she sat, cross-legged beside him, the Blade resting across her thighs.
"Lucien?" she said quietly.
He didn't speak.
He sat up — slowly, deliberately — and looked at her like someone watching a dream take shape. Then he blinked, and just for a second, she saw it:
Recognition.
His voice came rough. "It's me."
Amara reached out, brushing her hand across his jaw.
The shadows on his neck twitched.
She pulled back.
"What did she do to you?"
Lucien closed his eyes, exhaled through his teeth. "She didn't change me," he said. "She just... unlocked something that was always there."
Amara stared at him. "Then tell me the truth."
He opened his eyes again. "I don't think I'm fully lycan anymore."
They didn't get time to unpack it.
Because Madalena came sprinting into the chamber, dagger drawn, eyes wide.
"Someone's here."
Amara stood instantly, blade in hand. "Calia?"
"No," Madalena said, "worse."
Before she could explain, a figure dropped through the ceiling — a flash of light, a burst of fire. They landed hard, a swirl of red and white robes flowing behind them.
A Flame-Bearer.
A real one.
Markings burned down her arms like lava veins. She held two short sabers, both made from crystallized light.
She didn't speak. Just pointed one blade at Lucien.
"Step away from him, Amara. That thing is not your mate."
Amara blocked the blow without hesitation.
Their blades met in a white-hot spark that lit the cavern walls.
"He's not a threat," Amara said.
"Not yet," the woman replied. "But he will be. Calia corrupted him — and the order has already decided."
Amara gritted her teeth. "Who are you?"
The woman didn't blink. "My name is Saela. I'm Flame-Bound to the Council. And I'm here to destroy the Gate before he opens again."
Lucien didn't move. His jaw was set, eyes hollow.
Amara held her ground. "You'll have to go through me."
Saela stepped back. "I was afraid you'd say that."
In the silence that followed, Lucien finally spoke — voice lower, calmer, more like himself.
"I don't want to hurt anyone," he said. "But if you think I'm letting you kill me to make the Council feel better... try me."
The shadows around his feet rippled.
Saela hesitated — only for a breath — but Amara saw it.
She wasn't sure she could win.
But she had orders.
Outside, far beyond the mountains, Corthan felt the shift in power.
He closed his eyes.
Smiled.
"The bond is cracking."