Eclipse Love

A storm of magic and emotion filled the chamber, crackling in the air between them.

Lucian stood rigid, his silver eyes burning as he watched Selene, waiting for her to move—waiting for her to choose.

Vale's golden gaze shimmered with satisfaction, his presence a steady force beside her.

And Selene—Selene couldn't breathe.

Her heart pounded violently against her ribs as she stood frozen between them.

Two powers. Two paths. Two fates.

Lucian's hand remained outstretched, his voice raw and desperate.

"Selene, come with me."

A whisper of warmth—memories of his touch, his devotion, his love—wrapped around her like a familiar embrace.

But then Vale's voice slithered into her mind.

"You are more than you know. More than Lucian has told you."

Another vision flickered through her thoughts—images of fire and shadow, of a woman who looked like her but wasn't her.

Selene staggered, her head spinning.

"What if you were meant to be mine?" Vale's words echoed again.

Lucian snarled, his patience snapping. His magic surged, the temperature in the room dropping as frost crawled over the obsidian floor.

"I won't let you take her," he growled at Vale.

Vale smirked. "I didn't take her, Lucian. She's still standing here. She hasn't moved."

Lucian's fingers twitched, his fangs bared. "Because you're playing mind games with her."

Vale chuckled. "Am I? Or is she simply seeing the truth for the first time?"

Selene trembled as the power inside her stirred.

Something deep in her chest ached, like a door had been opened, and she could no longer unsee what was behind it.

She wasn't just fire.

She wasn't just ice.

She was something else.

Something more.

And the weight of it was crushing her.

Lucian took a step forward, his magic swirling, his frustration visible in every tense muscle of his body.

"Selene," he said, his voice softer now, pleading. "Please."

Her eyes snapped to his—those beautiful, stormy silver eyes.

Memories surged through her.

His arms around her in the dead of night.His whispered promises.His sacrifices for her.

Lucian had always chosen her.

And now, she had to choose him.

Selene moved.

Her feet barely touched the ground as she lunged for Lucian's hand—

But before she could reach him, Vale's magic slammed into her.

BOOM.

Selene cried out, a force like a thousand invisible chains wrapping around her.

Lucian's roar of rage split the air as he was thrown back by the blast, skidding across the chamber floor.

"SELENE!"

She struggled, her power flaring as she fought against Vale's hold—but the golden tendrils of his magic had already wrapped around her, pulling her back into his grasp.

Her vision blurred.

And for the first time, she felt it.

The full weight of what she was.

A Power Awakens

The air hummed with energy.

Lucian pushed himself up, panting, his body bruised from the impact. But he didn't care.

His gaze locked onto Selene—and something was happening to her.

Her hair shimmered, shifting between its natural color and something brighter.

Her flames flickered with gold, not just red.

Even her ice had changed—purer, sharper, deadlier.

Lucian's chest tightened.

This wasn't just Vale's magic.

This was her.

She was changing.

Vale's eyes glowed with satisfaction as he stepped closer, his fingers brushing against Selene's temple.

"Do you feel it now?" he whispered.

Selene's breath hitched.

Gods, she did.

It was like something deep inside her had broken free, something ancient and powerful.

She wasn't just Selene anymore.

She was fire and frost, darkness and light.

And she was terrified of what that meant.

Lucian's voice broke through the chaos.

"Selene, don't listen to him!"

She turned to him—just for a second.

And that second was everything.

Lucian saw the fear in her eyes.

The conflict.

The undeniable pull between two destinies.

But then—

Vale's magic surged.

And before Lucian could move—before Selene could stop it—

A golden portal ripped open beneath them.

The last thing she saw was Lucian's face, twisted in rage and devastation—

And then—

Darkness swallowed her whole.

Lucian's Wrath

Lucian lunged forward—but he was too late.

The portal vanished, taking Selene with it.

His mind shattered.

His body burned.

And then—

The entire chamber EXPLODED.

Lucian's fury ignited, his power shattering through the walls as an earth-shaking roar ripped from his throat.

Darius and Astrid barely had time to shield themselves before the shockwave sent them flying back.

Lucian didn't care.

He had lost her.

Again.

His breath came in ragged gasps, his hands trembling as fire and ice spiraled out of control, cracking the very foundations of the realm.

Astrid, gasping for breath, staggered to her feet.

"Lucian, we need to go—"

Lucian spun, his silver eyes glowing with unchained fury.

"No." His voice was lethal, cold. "We are not leaving."

Darius wiped blood from his lip, his expression grim. "Lucian, you can't just—"

Lucian's magic whipped around him, violent and uncontrollable.

His vision blurred, his pulse racing, his rage spiraling into something darker.

"I'm going after her."

Darius swore under his breath. "Do you even know where he took her?"

Lucian's hands clenched into fists, his breath ragged.

And then—

A voice.

Soft. Gentle. Familiar.

But it wasn't Selene's.

It was something older.

Something inside him.

"Find her."

Lucian's heart stilled.

For a moment, the world felt too quiet.

And then—

He felt it.

A pulse. A whisper of her magic.

She was still out there.

Still alive.

And no matter where Vale had taken her—

Lucian would find her.

Even if he had to burn the world to do it.

End of Chapter Twenty-Four