Silence thickened the air.
Selene's heart pounded as she stared into Elaris's knowing gaze, his words lingering like a death sentence.
"One of you must die."
Lucian's grip on her hand was tight—too tight—but she didn't pull away. She couldn't.
"Lies," Lucian growled, his voice sharp with defiance. "You don't decide fate."
Elaris tilted his head, amusement flickering in his golden eyes. "Don't I?"
The mist around them pulsed, shifting like a living thing. Images flickered within—visions of fire consuming the Emberlands, frost burying the Winter Court.
And then, something worse.
A world broken, split between eternal flames and endless ice, the land itself screaming in agony.
Selene sucked in a breath. "No."
"This is what happens when you defy balance," Elaris said smoothly, stepping toward them. "You think your love is powerful, that your bond is unbreakable. But in truth, it is a wound upon the world. A sickness."
Lucian raised his sword. "You're twisting the truth."
Elaris laughed softly. "Am I? Then tell me, prince of fire, do you not feel it? The way your flames rage stronger near her, the way her frost threatens to consume her whenever she's near you?"
Selene swallowed hard.
He wasn't lying.
Their powers had been growing unstable. She had felt it—how the more she embraced her love for Lucian, the harder it was to control the ice inside her. And she had seen the flickers of wild, uncontrollable fire in his eyes whenever he fought to protect her.
Still, she refused to believe they were a mistake.
She lifted her chin. "If what we have is so wrong, why did fate bring us together?"
Elaris's smile was slow, almost pitying. "Not fate. Rebellion. The world has fought against this union since the beginning. You defied it, and now, you must pay the price."
He extended his hand.
"I will give you one chance," he said, his voice soft. "Choose. End this now, and I will let the other live."
Selene's blood turned to ice.
Lucian's body tensed beside her. "You think we'd ever turn on each other?"
Elaris sighed, as if he had expected this answer.
"Then…" His fingers twitched, and the mist around them twisted violently. "You leave me no choice."
The ground trembled.
The mist collapsed inward, spiraling around them like a vortex. The world blurred, and suddenly, the three of them stood somewhere new.
Somewhere familiar.
Selene's breath hitched.
They were back in the Emberlands.
Or rather, what was left of it.
A Kingdom in Ruins
The palace was in flames.
Black smoke curled into the blood-red sky, ash coating the ground like snowfall. Bodies littered the courtyard—warriors of the Emberlands, knights of the Winter Court, their weapons still clutched in frozen hands.
Selene's stomach twisted. "No…"
Lucian staggered forward, his face pale. "This can't be real."
Elaris stood behind them, watching calmly. "Oh, but it is."
He gestured to the destruction around them.
"This is what happens when fire and ice refuse to bow."
Selene's breathing was ragged. "We—we can stop this. We can fix this."
Elaris's smile turned cold. "Can you?"
He lifted his hand again.
A wave of shadow exploded from his palm, slamming into Selene and Lucian.
Selene barely had time to react before she was ripped away from Lucian, her body thrown backward.
She landed hard against the scorched ground, her vision spinning.
Lucian let out a roar of fury, flames erupting around him. But before he could move, shadowy tendrils wrapped around his limbs, locking him in place.
Elaris turned toward Selene, his golden eyes gleaming.
"Since you refuse to choose," he said softly, "I will make the decision for you."
He raised his other hand—and Lucian screamed.
Selene's heart stopped.
Lucian's body arched, fire erupting wildly around him, but the shadows ate at his flames, swallowing them whole.
Selene scrambled to her feet. "No!"
Elaris didn't even look at her.
"This is the end of the prince of fire."
Selene didn't think.
She acted.
Ice exploded from her hands, surging toward Elaris with a force she had never summoned before. The ground beneath her froze solid, cracking under the weight of her fury.
Elaris turned sharply, but he was too late.
Selene's frost hit him—a spear of ice slamming into his chest, sending him flying backward. The shadows around Lucian shattered, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
Selene ran to him, dropping to her knees. "Lucian?"
He groaned, his body trembling. "I'm… here."
She exhaled shakily, brushing his hair back.
But they weren't safe yet.
A cold chuckle echoed through the smoke.
Selene turned, her heart hammering.
Elaris was rising to his feet.
The ice that had pierced him was melting.
His golden eyes burned brighter than ever.
Selene's breath hitched.
He wasn't just powerful. He wasn't just a master of mind control.
He was something more.
Elaris smiled.
"Ah," he murmured, stepping forward. "There it is."
Selene's pulse pounded. "What?"
He gestured toward her. "Your true power. The one that only emerges when you're protecting him."
Selene frowned, her body still shaking from the sheer force of her magic.
Elaris tilted his head. "Now I understand."
His voice softened, almost thoughtful.
"The world doesn't need one of you to die," he said, eyes gleaming. "It needs one of you to break."
Selene's blood ran cold.
Elaris lifted his hand one final time.
Darkness surged toward them, faster than before.
Lucian struggled to stand, his fire flickering weakly.
Selene clenched her fists.
She wouldn't let this happen.
Not again.
This time, she would end it.
Even if it meant embracing the power she had been afraid of her entire life.
Even if it meant becoming something else entirely.
She reached for the ice within her—all of it.
And let it consume her.