Kieran's POV

Astrid drew a deep breath and lifted her hands, her fingers curling with slow reverence as the first pulse of her magic began to rise. The ingredients she had requested were all laid before her

My skin buzzed with energy, the kind that came before something irreversible. Varya stood by the window, silent and watchful. Cyrin's eyes were closed, already anchoring himself for the magical support he would need to offer. I could feel the crackling tension in the room like the start of a coming storm.

Astrid's lips parted.

Then the door burst open.

"Stop!"

The shrill voice cut through the air like a blade. I turned, eyes narrowing, as Magnus stumbled into the room. His chest heaved, eyes wide and frantic.

"Stop," Maybe gasped again, throwing out a hand as if that alone could hold back the rising wave of magic.

Astrid blinked. "Magnus...."

"I might have a solution!" he shouted.

My heart dropped a beat. "What are you talking about?"

Magnus stepped forward then, his voice calm but sharp with urgency. "The ritual, it draws immense power. That's why it's only performed under a full moon. The energy of the moon balances the toll it takes on the caster. But we don't have a full moon tonight, which means all the cost will fall on Astrid."

My jaw tightened. "I'm well aware of the risks, Magnus."

"I know," he said. "But what if we could channel another source? Something that holds the same kind of celestial gravity."

Astrid looked up at him. "There is no substitute for the moon."

"But there is," Magnus said, turning to me. His eyes locked onto mine. "Him."

I blinked. "What?"

"You," Magnus said, voice low and charged. "You, Your Majesty."

I stepped toward him slowly, each movement sharp with caution. "We do not have the luxury of time for cryptic riddles, Magnus. If you have something real to offer, say it now."

He took a breath and then said it, plain and raw. "You are an Ascended Royal Lycan, Kieran. The most powerful of our kind. The earth vibrates when you walk. The moon shines brighter in your presence. You are, whether you like it or not, a cosmic anomaly. The divine blood of kings runs in your veins. If anything can be used to mimic the energy of the moon, it's you."

Cyrin turned, slowly, thoughtfully, brow furrowed. "It's…. not impossible," he murmured. "It would take some reworking of the runes, a tethering channel... but in theory..."

"It might just work," Magnus cut in. "It won't eliminate the risks entirely, but it will drastically reduce the fatal blow to Astrid."

Astrid pushed herself off the floor, her movements rigid with disbelief. Her face had drained of all color.

"No," she said sharply, shaking her head. "No, we are not going to do that."

Her voice cracked slightly, but the fire in her eyes burned strong. She turned to Magnus, who stepped closer, already preparing to counter her resistance.

"Astrid," Magnus started, "this is our best chance. Kieran's power..."

"I said no!" she snapped, eyes wide and wild as they darted between the both of us. "That would be asking too much of him."

She looked at me now, truly looked at me, not as a warrior or a ruler, but as someone she feared losing.

"He's the Alpha King now. We don't even know what might happen during this ritual. It could be..." Her voice broke. "It might be fatal, even for him. And I'm not going to let that happen."

She shook her head more violently, stepping back like the very idea sickened her. "He's not a soldier anymore. His life is more important than anyone else's now. That's the truth."

I stepped forward.

"That's exactly why I should do it."

Astrid's lips parted, stunned into silence. I held her gaze.

"Because I am the Alpha King. And my duty, my sole purpose now, is to protect every single life under my reign." I took another step forward. "Even if it means sacrificing mine."

She tried to speak, but I raised a hand and silenced her.

"I'm not above them. I'm not untouchable. If I ask others to bleed for this kingdom, then I damn well better be willing to do the same." My voice hardened, my resolve turning to steel. "We do not have time, Astrid. This is not a debate."

Her lips trembled as she looked at me, her protest buried beneath her fear. I could see it written all over her face. But I couldn't afford to let her hold me back. Not now.

I straightened to my full height and let the command settle in my voice.

"I'm ordering you, as your Alpha King, to begin the ritual. Use me as the conduit. Channel whatever you must. Do it now."

Her shoulders dropped, breath hitching in her throat. The silence that followed was heavy. But she nodded, once, reluctantly, and turned toward the altar.

The choice had been made.

Even if it cost me everything.

Astrid stood frozen for a moment longer, her jaw clenched so tight it trembled. I saw the war raging in her eyes, duty battling fear. But in the end, she lowered her head, her voice tight with restrained emotion.

"….Yes, Your Majesty."

It wasn't agreement. It was submission—

, to a royal command she couldn't refuse.

She moved swiftly, brushing past Magnus without a word. Her fingers trembled only slightly as she reached into her satchel and pulled out a thick white chalk laced with silver dust. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she crouched, redrawing the faint runes across the ground.

The air shifted as the markings took form, concentric circles laced with jagged sigils, each pulse of silver ink humming with dormant power. This was no ordinary ritual. It was ancient, dangerous, and now, irreversible.

When she was done, Astrid rose and looked at me, every inch of her taut with resistance she could no longer voice.

"Kneel," she said, her voice clipped. "In the center. There. Inside the anchor rune."

I nodded and stepped forward. My boots scuffed across the stone, now warm with energy. I knelt at the heart of the rune she had marked, the spirals and wards encircling me like a cage, or perhaps a pyre. My palms rested flat on my thighs. My head high. My breath steady.

Magnus stood at Astrid's side, whispering something too low for me to hear, but her curt nod told me she was pushing forward, despite everything.

She raised her hands to begin the invocation.

And then...

A sharp gasp echoed across the hall.

The temperature dropped.

I whipped my head around just in time to see the Ghost Hound Queen jolt.

Her eyes snapped open, icy, dead, and burning with malevolent awareness.

A low, guttural growl unfurled from her chest like a curse being torn loose.

"The wolfsbane," Astrid breathed. Her eyes shot to the smoldering braziers, now reduced to embers. "It's gone. We used it all."

A rush of primal energy rippled through the chamber, and the ghost queen's chains began to rattle, violently.

"She's awake," Magnus growled, drawing his blade on instinct.

The ritual hadn't even started.

And already…

Everything was already unraveling.

The moment her eyes opened, chaos detonated in the chamber.

The ghost hound queen shrieked, not with sound, but with force. A wave of energy burst outward like a psychic scream, cracking the glass vials lining the stone shelves and snuffing out what little light remained in the room. The chains anchoring her groaned under sudden tension.

"Hold her down!" Astrid barked.

Magnus moved instantly, launching across the space in a blur. Varya was right behind him, her arm shielding her face from the phantom wind as she threw her weight onto the queen's left side. Magnus took the right, both warriors straining against her inhuman strength.

"Her body's fighting the tether," Varya hissed. "She's going to break free!"

"Not if I can help it," Cyrin growled, already pulling a thick coil of silver links from his bag. He worked fast, wrapping them around the corners of the bed frame and across the queen's midsection, yanking them tight with enough force to cut stone.

The ghosthound queen writhed, her hair fanning unnaturally above her like it had a life of its own, her limbs jerking against the restraints with raw, terrifying strength. Her mouth opened, no breath, no scream. Just that eerie silence filled with death and fury.

And then....

Astrid spun to face me.

Her hand shot out, sharp and sudden.

I didn't flinch when her fingers clamped around mine.

But I felt it the second the magic began.

She said nothing to me. No warning. No instruction. Just that single touch, and then she channeled.

The words tumbled from her lips in a tongue older than time. Guttural, beautiful, terrible, etched with meaning I couldn't grasp but could feel.

And goddess… I felt everything.

A searing, biting pull tore through my chest like I was being unraveled from the inside. My veins lit up with molten energy as Astrid's power tore through me, ruthless and cold, using my body like a conduit, a vessel.

I gasped.

No.... choked.

It was as if my soul was being peeled open. As if the core of my being was being siphoned, fed into the ritual like blood into a flame.