The forest did not sound like a forest anymore.
The rustling of leaves had turned into breathing deep, guttural, hungry. As Lyria clutched the edge of Kaelith's cloak, she felt every vibration in the earth… each thud, each groan, each unnatural shift in the air.
Kaelith stood unmoving, a black statue carved against the moonlight, his silhouette broad and protective. Silver runes along his armor pulsed in a slow rhythm, answering the threat with cold, ancient power.
Lyria whispered, "What's coming?"
He didn't turn around.His voice was calm, but the edge in it was sharp enough to cut stone.
"Moonspawn."
The name alone chilled her.
"What… what are they?"
He finally looked at her, just for a fraction of a heartbeat.
"Monsters born from corrupted lunar energy. They hunt anything that carries a celestial mark."His gaze lowered to her collarboneto the faint crescent-shaped glow that had appeared after their touch.
Her breath caught.
"So they're coming for"
"You," Kaelith finished.
Before she could speak again, a branch snapped violently.
Then another.
Then
The forest exploded.
A massive creature lunged from the shadows wolf-like but twisted, its body dripping with black shimmering mist. Its eyes were hollow voids; its bones jutted unnaturally through its silvered flesh.
Lyria stumbled back in terror.
Kaelith didn't move.
He lifted a single hand.
The air turned icy.
"Stay behind me."
The creature roared, charging.
Kaelith's eyes flashed silver cold fury, ancient power, deadly calm.
A crescent-shaped blade of moonlight ignited from his palm, forming a curved sword made of pure glowing arcane energy. He swung it once.
A silver arc tore through the darkness.
The Moonspawn shrieked, collapsing in a heap of black mist that scattered like smoke.
Lyria stared, stunned.
Kaelith turned his head slightly not enough to show emotion, but enough to acknowledge her shock.
"You are trembling."
"No no, I'm fine," she whispered, even though she was not.
"You're lying."He stepped closer, lowering his sword.
She hadn't realized how close they were until she felt his breath on her forehead cool, steady, grounding.
His hand hovered near her cheek, but he didn't touch. Not yet.
"You are allowed to fear," he murmured."It does not make you weak."
Lyria looked up at him, her voice small."Are you afraid?"
His silver eyes softened barely visible, but present.
"I fear losing what I was born to protect."
Before she could understand what he meant, a second howl ripped through the forest.
This one was deeper.
Angrier.
And not alone.
Hundreds of glowing eyes blinked open in the darkness.
Lyria's heart sank. "There's more?"
"Moonspawn travel in packs," Kaelith said quietly. "Corruption spreads fast."
She swallowed. "What do we do?"
He extended his hand toward her uncertain, as though offering something fragile.
She hesitated.
"Lyria." His voice dropped, rough and soft at the same time."Trust me."
Her fingers slid into his.
The moment they touched, the bond flared hot and bright, a surge of energy rising from her chest to her fingertips. Kaelith inhaled sharply, as if the connection struck him just as strongly.
He pulled her closer, his arm positioning her against his side in one swift, protective motion.
Then
The world bent around them.
The forest blurred, light spiraling upward as if the moon itself had grabbed hold of them. Lyria felt weightless, breathless, suspended between two heartbeats.
And then
They landed inside a massive cavern lit by glowing crystals and silver veins embedded in stone.
A hidden sanctuary.
Lyria staggered, dizzy. Kaelith steadied her with a firm arm.
"This place is protected," he said. "They cannot enter."
She released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
But as she looked around, she felt something tugging at her—the hum in her chest growing louder than before. The glowing veins in the rock pulsed in perfect rhythm with her heartbeat.
The cavern was reacting to her.
Kaelith noticed instantly.
He stepped in front of her, lowering his voice."Lyria… you weren't supposed to awaken this soon."
She looked up at him."What am I?"
Silence.
His jaw tightened.
"You are the other half of the Moonbound Oath," he said."A promise made by the first Lunar Warden… bound to his destined counterpart."
"But I'm just…"Her voice cracked."I'm no warrior. I'm no guardian. I'm just an herbalist's apprentice"
"No." Kaelith moved closer, eyes intense."You are much more than you believe. The bond chose you. Fate chose you. I…"
He stopped, breath steady but voice trembling with something dangerously close to emotion.
"I have waited lifetimes for you."
Lyria's heart flipped.
She had so many questionswhy her, what she meant to him, what the Moonbound Oath truly was
But before she could ask, Kaelith suddenly stiffened.
He grabbed her arm gently but urgently.
"What's wrong?" she breathed.
He turned toward the cavern entrance.
"The Moonspawn followed our trail."His voice dropped into a cold, lethal growl."And something stronger is with them."
Lyria felt fear crawling up her spine.
Kaelith's silver aura flared, illuminating the entire cavern.
He looked back at her protective, cold, powerful, but with a softness reserved only for her.
"Stay behind me," he whispered."No matter what happens."
The shadows outside shifted.
Something enormous approached.
And Lyria realized
The battle for her fate had only just begun.