Lyra's POV
"You rely on each other too much," the leader said, circling. "Your bond is beautiful… but it is a chain I will break."
Kaelan lunged, sword swinging in a deadly arc. The leader parried effortlessly, sparks flying where their staff met his blade. Then, with a motion too fast to follow, the leader struck Kaelan's shoulder with a surge of dark energy. He stumbled, a low grunt escaping his lips, and I felt panic flare.
I screamed, sending another wave of energy toward the leader. This time, it hit, forcing them back, if only slightly. Kaelan recovered, pushing himself into a fighting stance again, and the wolves sprang, teeth bared, teeth flashing under the morning light.
The leader's eyes widened ever so slightly enough for me to catch it. They hadn't expected us to coordinate this way. "Clever," they muttered. "But clever is not enough."
From the shadows, more cloaked figures emerged, converging rapidly on our position. My chest tightened as I realized the scale of the attack. It wasn't just a skirmish it was a full-scale ambush. Darian, still tied to the tree, struggled, eyes darting around like a cornered animal, but he made no move to help us.
Then, the ground beneath our feet shuddered. Roots burst through the soil like snakes, twisting and latching onto the wolves, trying to immobilize them. The leader raised their staff, chanting softly. Dark clouds gathered above the forest canopy, thickening and swirling, blocking the sun. A storm, unnatural and fierce, was forming.
Kaelan's eyes met mine, urgent and fierce. "Lyra, together! Now!"
I reached out with my mind, connecting to him, to the wolves, to the bond we shared. A brilliant pulse of energy exploded outward, blinding in its intensity. The shadows recoiled, screams echoing through the trees. Branches snapped, and the forest quaked as if the land itself were rebelling against the intrusion of dark magic.
For a moment, I thought we had won maybe even survived unscathed.
Then, a sharp, piercing cry cut through the air. I looked up, and my stomach dropped.
Darian's bindings had loosened or been manipulated and he was free, moving with speed and grace I hadn't expected. But he wasn't attacking us. He ran straight toward the leader.
Confusion struck me. Was he betraying them? Or… was this exactly what the Covenant wanted?
Before I could react, the leader raised their staff, and an immense wave of shadow energy shot toward Kaelan and me. I tried to block it, but the sheer force knocked me off my feet, sending me skidding across the damp forest floor.
Pain lanced through me, sharp and burning, but my wolf forced me upright. Kaelan roared, leaping into the path of the blast, holding it back with all his strength. The energy pulse slammed against him, and I saw the strain on his face.
The leader laughed a sound colder than ice. "It's over," they said. "The bond will break. Your choices… meaningless."
I stared at them, heart hammering, breath ragged. "No," I whispered. "It's not over. Not yet."
And even as the words left my lips, I knew the battle was far from finished. The real fight was only beginning.
The forest trembled beneath the storm's wrath. Rain fell in torrents, turning the earth into slick mud, and lightning split the sky in jagged fury. Every gust of wind carried the scent of wet leaves and charged magic, tangling with the acrid smell of the Covenant's dark energy.
Kaelan was at my side, drenched and grim, muscles tensed as he kept the shadow wave at bay. His grip on his sword was iron-strong, and yet his eyes flickered with pain. The blast had left him weakened, but he refused to let it show.
"Lyra!" he barked over the roaring wind. "We need to regroup!"
I nodded, struggling to steady my balance. The wolves circled protectively around us, their fur bristling as they snarled at the advancing cloaked figures. Even the storm seemed to sense the tension, thunder echoing like the war drum of some ancient beast.
Darian was still moving toward the leader, his pace eerily calm. I couldn't read him he wasn't attacking Kaelan or me, but he wasn't surrendering either. My instincts screamed that his role in this was far from simple.
The leader raised their staff again, chanting in a language older than the forest itself. The shadows that had been repelled by our energy pulse twisted into new, horrifying forms tall, wiry shapes that slithered like serpents, eyes glowing with a malevolent red light.
Kaelan gritted his teeth. "We can't hold them much longer. Lyra… the bond. Channel it into the storm. We need to turn this against them."
I swallowed, fear clawing at my chest, but I forced myself to focus. The bond pulsed stronger than ever, responding to our combined will. I drew deep from the core of my magic, letting the energy flow through me, through Kaelan, through the wolves. It was wild, untamed, but it answered our call.
Lightning struck close, splitting a massive oak and sending shards of wood flying. I flung up my hands, directing the energy in a swirling arc toward the approaching shadow-serpents. The impact was explosive, sending shockwaves through the forest. The creatures hissed and dissolved into smoke, but more pressed forward, relentless.
Kaelan roared, his sword swinging with a force that cleaved through shadows like paper. Every strike burned him, yet he fought as if the storm itself were his ally.
And then, Darian reached the leader. I froze.
For a brief moment, they faced each other, and something shifted in the air a recognition, almost… familiarity. Darian's hand went to the leader's shoulder, and I flinched, expecting a strike. But instead, he whispered something I couldn't hear, and the leader's eyes flickered, just for a heartbeat, betraying… hesitation?
Before I could process it, a new wave of shadow energy surged from the leader, far stronger than anything before. It knocked me off my feet, and I hit the mud with a bone-jarring thud. My vision blurred, rain stinging my eyes.
Kaelan roared in pain. The wave had slammed him backward, dragging him into the roots and mud. My heart lurched.
I scrambled forward, desperate. "Kaelan!" I screamed, reaching for him through the storm.
The wolves growled and lunged, tearing at the shadows trying to hold him. Darian stepped between the leader and Kaelan, and for a fleeting second, I saw a glimmer of… defiance? Or was it something darker?
The leader's voice cut through the storm like a blade. "The bond will shatter… and with it, your world."
I clenched my fists, feeling the bond flare violently in response. "Not if I can stop it," I shouted.
A surge of energy shot from me, lightning and magic entwined, striking the leader square in the chest. The force was enough to send them skidding back, and for the first time, I saw fear or at least surprise flicker in their eyes.
But the storm wasn't done. A deafening crack split the sky, and the forest trembled violently. Trees uprooted themselves, hurling massive limbs toward us, and a shadow-tentacle snaked toward Lyra, ensnaring one of the wolves in its grip.
My stomach dropped. The tide of battle had shifted again, and I realized, with a sinking dread, that the true fight what the leader had been waiting for was only beginning.
The tentacle reared above me, black and slick, a living shadow with teeth of jagged darkness. My heart hammered in my chest. One wrong move, and it would tear through the bond and through us all.
"Lyra!" Kaelan's voice cut through the chaos. He had freed himself, mud clinging to his armor, breath ragged. "Now! Focus it!"
I took a deep, shuddering breath, feeling the bond pulse like a drumbeat in my chest. The wolves circled, their eyes glowing as they synchronized with our energy. I reached out with everything I had, drawing the storm's raw power into my veins, into the bond itself.
Lightning arced from my fingertips, striking the shadow-tentacle. It hissed and recoiled, but the leader countered immediately, summoning another wave of darkness to smother it. The forest was a battlefield of clashing energy light and shadow dancing in furious, blinding streaks.
And then Darian moved.
He didn't attack not in the conventional sense. Instead, he stepped forward, placing himself directly between the leader and us. His hands glowed faintly with an unfamiliar energy. I blinked, realizing… he wasn't using the dark power of the enemy. He was manipulating the shadows differently twisting them, pulling them back like a master puppeteer.
"Darian… what" I began, but the words caught in my throat as the leader shrieked, recoiling in shock.
"Impossible!" the leader spat, eyes wide with fury. "You… you've turned my own power against me?"
Darian didn't answer. Instead, he extended a hand toward me. "Lyra, now. All of it. Channel it together."
I hesitated for a split second but the bond pulsed urgently, responding to his calm, precise command. The storm answered us, thunder roaring in approval. I reached out, merging my energy with Darian's and Kaelan's.
The surge of power was overwhelming, almost too much to contain. Rain and wind whipped around us, lightning tearing through the sky in perfect synchronization with our energy. The shadow creatures shrieked and dissipated, their forms unraveling like smoke in sunlight.
The leader staggered, their cloak torn, staff splintered. For the first time, I saw raw fear in their eyes. "No… this cannot be!"