Chapter 15 - The Eclipse of the Heart
The black liquid surged outward like a tidal wave of living darkness, threatening to consume everything in its path.
Kaelen shifted instantly into his gigantic silver wolf form, throwing himself between the wave of dark blood and his guards. He let out a deafening roar that created an atmospheric shockwave, slowing the liquid shadow down. But the dark magic seeped into the ground, attempting to bind Kaelen’s paws with dark, thorned vines.
"Rowena! The altar!" Kaelen’s voice echoed in her mind through their mate-bond. "Destroy the crystal heart on his staff!"
Rowena sprinted across the slippery black stone courtyard, dodging dark energy bolts fired by Malakor's remaining warlocks. She didn't draw a sword; instead, she concentrated all her magic into her hands, forming a slender blade of pure, condensed lunar light.
Malakor sneered as Rowena approached the dais, raising his staff to unleash a lethal beam of dark fire directly at her heart. "Die, little Queen!"
Rowena didn't dodge. She trusted Kaelen implicitly.
In a fraction of a second, the giant silver wolf lunged across the courtyard, taking the full force of the dark fire beam against his armored shoulder. Kaelen roared in pain, but his body held the line, shielding Rowena from the lethal blast.
Using the momentum, Rowena leaped onto the stone dais, swinging her blade of light with all the strength in her body.
CRACK!
The lunar blade struck the dark crystal heart at the top of Malakor’s staff. A deafening, agonizing shriek tore through the air as the crystal shattered into millions of glowing fragments.
The dark liquid shadow in the pit instantly dried up into useless black dust. Malakor let out a hollow gasp as the dark magic sustaining his life force collapsed inward, tearing his blood armor apart.
"This... is not... the end..." Malakor choked out, stumbling back before falling into the deep, empty abyss beneath the dais.
Silence fell over the citadel. The crimson clouds dissolved completely, allowing the bright, full moon to shine down upon the victorious shadow-guards.
Kaelen shifted back into his human form, stumbling slightly from the dark burn on his shoulder. Rowena rushed to his side, throwing her arms around his neck as her hands immediately glowed with soft healing light, soothing his wounds.
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"You took a dark fire bolt for me," she sobbed softly, resting her cheek against his chest.
Kaelen wrapped his strong arms around her waist, lifting her off her feet and kissing her deeply under the silver light of the moon. "I would burn a thousand times over to keep you safe, my Queen."
