CHAPTER 123: CHAPTER 123: THE ELDEST ENEMY

ARIA POV

"KAEL!" I screamed through the bond, but only quiet answered me.

The barrier around us flickered as my focus shattered. Through the network, I felt the other Moon Alphas fighting to hold the circle together as my power wavered.

"Aria, focus!" the Moon Goddess ordered. "If the barrier falls now, we all die!"

But I couldn’t think. One of the twins was gone. The bond I’d shared with Kael since the curse broke felt like a gaping hole in my chest. Was he dead? Captured? I couldn’t tell, and that not-knowing was driving me crazy.

"The barrier!" Mira shouted.

I snapped back to reality just as a huge crack appeared in our magical shield. The Devourers were pushing against it, their eyeless faces hungry and patient.

"Hold it together," I told myself, pushing my power back into the circle. "You can’t save anyone if you’re dead."

The barrier solidified again, but I could feel how much the effort had cost everyone. Through the network, Elena’s tiredness hit me like a wave, and Zara’s pain from her injuries made me gasp.

"We’re running out of time," the Moon Goddess said quietly. "Your people can’t maintain this much longer."

She was right. Around the circle, pack members were collapsing from the pressure of feeding their energy into the Moon Alphas. Some of the smaller wolves were already unconscious.

"There has to be another way," I said desperately.

"Perhaps there is," a new voice said.

The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once, making the air itself seem to tremble. Even the Devourers outside our barrier stopped their attack and looked around nervously.

"Who’s there?" I called out.

"I am the First," the voice answered. "The Eldest of the Devourers. The one who remembers the beginning."

The ground began to shake, and cracks showed in the earth. From the biggest crack, something began to emerge. At first, I thought it was just another Devourer, but as more of it appeared, I realized this creature was totally different.

Where the other Devourers looked almost human, this one was huge and ancient. Its skin was covered in symbols that glowed with dark light, and instead of the blank faces of its slaves, it had features that looked almost noble. Almost sad.

"Great Elder," Vorthak said, bowing low. "You have awakened."

"I had to," the First said, its voice like faraway thunder. "The Shadow Lords approach, and there are things that must be said before the end."

"What things?" I asked, though part of me wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

The First’s eyes—actual eyes, not empty sockets—focused on me. They were ancient and tired, like someone who had seen too much pain.

"You think we are your enemies, child of two realms," it said. "But you are wrong. We are your prisoners."

"What?" I blinked in confusion. "But you’re hitting us. You’re absorbing werewolf magic."

"Because we have no choice," the First said sadly. "When your Moon Goddess made the werewolves, she needed a way to control them. What if they became too powerful? What if they turned against the natural order? So she made us to be their balance—their eternal enemy."

"That’s impossible," the Moon Goddess said, but I heard uncertainty in her words.

"Is it, Selene?" the First asked. "Think carefully. When did you first learn about the Devourers? Was it not during the first werewolf uprising, when some of your children began to question your authority?"

The Moon Goddess went very still. "That was... different. They were becoming dangerous."

"So you released us to hunt them down," the First continued. "And ever since, we have been bound to this cause. We cannot stop consuming werewolf power because it is what we were made to do. We are as much slaves to our nature as werewolves are to theirs."

This changed everything. If the Devourers weren’t really our enemies, if they were just following their training...

"But why are you telling us this now?" I asked.

"Because the Shadow Lords lied to us," the First said. "They promised they could break our binding, free us from our endless hunger. But instead, they plan to use us to destroy all vampires and then destroy us as well."

"So we’re all in the same trap," I realized.

"Exactly. The Shadow Lords want to reset the supernatural world totally. No werewolves, no Devourers, no Moon Goddess. Just them, ruling over whatever remains."

"How do we stop them?" Mira asked.

"There is a way," the First said slowly. "But it takes great sacrifice. The binding that rules us was written into the fabric of reality itself. To break it, someone would have to redo that part of creation."

"And that someone would be me," I said, understanding immediately.

"Your star power comes from the space between worlds," the First confirmed. "It is the only force that can change fundamental magic. But using it for something this big..." It shook its huge head. "You would not survive."

"There has to be another way," the Moon Goddess said firmly.

"Perhaps," the First admitted. "If we could find the original binding spell, we might be able to modify it instead of destroying it totally. But that spell is hidden in the Shadow Realm itself, protected by the Shadow Lords’ strongest magic."

"Then we go get it," I said.

"Aria, no," Mira grabbed my arm. "You can’t seriously be thinking of entering the Shadow Realm."

"Actually, I can," I said, the plan forming in my mind. "The star power lets me live between dimensions. I might be the only one who can live there long enough to find the spell."

"It’s suicide," the Moon Goddess said. "Even if you could reach the spell, the Shadow Lords would know the moment you entered their realm."

"Not if I’m not alone," I said, looking at the First. "You said the Devourers were bound to hunt werewolves. But what if we briefly changed what counts as a werewolf?"

The old creature’s eyes widened with understanding. "You want to bind us to hunt Shadow Lords instead."

"Just long enough to get to the spell," I said. "Can it be done?"

"Theoretically," the First said slowly. "But it would take a Moon Alpha to willingly share their essence with a Devourer. The magical reaction could kill you both."

"I’ll do it," I said instantly.

"Aria, this is insane," Mira said. "Even if it works, you’ll be linked to one of these things. What if you can’t break the link afterward?"

"Then I’ll deal with that when it happens," I said. "Right now, everyone I care about is in danger, and this might be our only chance."

Through our damaged bond, I suddenly felt a flicker of awareness. Not Kael—his presence was still dark—but Lucien and Jaxon were getting closer. They were hurt but living, and they were bringing help.

"Whatever we’re going to do, we need to do it fast," I said. "The triplets are almost here, but so are the Shadow Lords."

The First nodded seriously. "Then we begin. But know this, child of two realms—once this binding is formed, you and I will share thoughts, feelings, memories. You will feel the hunger that has driven us for millennia. Are you prepared for that?"

I thought about Kael’s silent presence in my mind, about my pack members collapsing from exhaustion, about the Shadow Lords coming to kill everyone I loved.

"I’m prepared," I said.

"Very well." The First stretched one massive, clawed hand. "Take my hand, and we will see if the impossible can be achieved."

I reached out to touch the old Devourer’s claw, but just as our skin made contact, a new voice cut through the air.

"How touching," the voice said with cold amusement. "The Moon Alpha and the Eldest Devourer, working together at last."

A figure appeared in the space between our barrier and the Devourers—a Shadow Lord, but not like any I’d seen before. This one looked almost human, except for eyes that were darker than black holes.

"Malphas," the Moon Goddess whispered, and I heard real fear in her voice.

"Hello, Selene," the Shadow Lord said pleasantly. "I hope you don’t mind that we arrived early. We were so eager to see how this little play would end."

Around us, more Shadow Lords began to appear. Dozens of them, all with that same terrible nothingness in their eyes.

"You’re too late," I said, trying to sound stronger than I felt. "We know about the bond now. We know how to stop you."

Malphas laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "Oh, child. You know nothing at all."

He gestured casually, and the magical barrier around us simply vanished. Not destroyed—just gone, as if it had never existed.

"You see," he continued as his fellow Shadow Lords began to surround us, "there never was a bond spell controlling the Devourers. We made that up."

The First’s face changed to one of horror. "What?"

"The Devourers have always been free to choose," Malphas said with a cruel smile. "They hunt werewolves because they enjoy it. They eat magic because they’re greedy. And they’ve been working with us gladly for the past thousand years."

I felt the bottom drop out of my world. Everything the First had told us was a lie?

"No," the old Devourer said desperately. "That’s not true. I remember the binding. I remember—"

"You remember what we wanted you to remember," Malphas interrupted. "False memories are such useful things."

The First stumbled as if physically struck, and I realized the horrible truth. Even the Eldest Devourer had been misled.

And now we were surrounded by enemies on all sides, with no barrier, no plan, and no chance.

But just as hopelessness began to overwhelm me, I felt something impossible through the bond.

Kael’s presence flashed back to life in my mind, stronger than ever before.

And he wasn’t alone.