Semua Bab Moonbound desire : Bab 41 - Bab 50

The cold stone walls of Elias’s stronghold loomed ahead, a fortress of shadows and secrets. Selene’s heart pounded as she stood in its eerie silence, Ronan by her side. Every fiber of her being screamed that this was a mistake—but she had no choice. Elias had lured her here, whispering promises of truth, of an end to the bloodshed. But Selene knew better.Ronan shifted beside her, his grip tightening around the hilt of his blade. He had insisted on coming, despite the raw wounds on his body. His time in captivity had changed him—his once-unbreakable spirit now carried a weight she couldn’t quite name. She had barely gotten him back, and now they were walking straight into the lion’s den.A gust of wind howled through the empty corridors as they stepped inside. Cassian and Varian flanked them, weapons drawn. The tension was suffocating.A slow clap echoed through the chamber.Elias.He stepped into the dim torchlight, a cruel smirk carved onto his face. Dressed in black, his presence w

Ronan lay still, his breathing slow, but the darkness hadn’t left his eyes. The faint red flicker in his irises sent a chill through Selene. She refused to believe he was lost, but something inside him had changed—something Elias had left behind.Selene knelt beside him, her hands trembling as she brushed damp strands of hair from his face. “Ronan, it’s me,” she whispered. “You’re safe.”His grip tightened on her wrist, not in aggression but as if he was holding onto the last bit of himself. His voice was hoarse, raw. “You should have left me.”Selene’s heart clenched. “Never.”Cassian scoffed from behind them. “You’re too blind to see it, Selene. He’s dangerous now.”Selene turned sharply. “He fought against it. He never gave in.”Cassian’s jaw clenched. “He almost killed you.”Ronan flinched, and for the first time since waking, his eyes dropped, his entire body tensing. He remembered.Selene softened. “That wasn’t you, Ronan.”His expression twisted in pain. “Wasn’t it?”Silence st

The world still smelled like smoke and magic.Selene’s body ached as she stumbled forward, her knees nearly giving out beneath her. The night air was cold against her sweat-dampened skin, but she barely noticed. All she could see was the lingering image of Ronan’s blackened eyes, the cruel smirk on his lips as he let them escape.He let them go.Cassian’s firm grip yanked her back to reality. “You’re slowing down,” he growled. “We can’t stop here.”Varian, still weak from casting the teleportation rune, wavered beside them. “We need to—” he coughed, “—get to cover. If Elias’s men tracked us, we won’t last long out in the open.”Selene didn’t care.She twisted out of Cassian’s grip, turning back toward the shadowed landscape they had just escaped from. “We have to go back.”Cassian’s expression darkened. “No.”Her heart slammed against her ribs. “Ronan is still in there! You saw it—he told me to run. He’s fighting it.”Cassian exhaled sharply, stepping closer until his face was inches

Ronan knelt on the cold stone floor, his wrists bound in iron shackles, his body bruised and bloodied from the relentless torment Elias had inflicted upon him. But his golden eyes burned with defiance, refusing to yield.Selene struggled against the guards holding her back, her heart pounding wildly. She had never seen Ronan so vulnerable before, yet the fire in his gaze remained unbroken.Elias circled him like a predator savoring its prey. “You could make this easier, Ronan,” he mused, voice laced with mock concern. “Pledge your loyalty to me, and I’ll spare you this suffering. Or would you rather continue bleeding for a lost cause?”Ronan lifted his head, spitting blood onto the floor at Elias’s feet. “I’ll never bow to you.”Elias sighed dramatically. “So stubborn. But you see, I don’t need your cooperation. I just need to find the right pressure point to break you.” His eyes flickered toward Selene. “And I believe I already have.”Selene’s stomach twisted as Elias strode toward h

The fire flickered weakly, casting jagged shadows across the cave walls. Selene knelt beside Ronan, her fingers trembling as she pressed them against his burning skin. His breath came in short, ragged gasps, his body locked in the grip of something unnatural. Dark veins, pulsing like poisoned roots, crawled up his neck, vanishing beneath the collar of his tunic.“Ronan,” she whispered, shaking him slightly. His eyelids fluttered, but he didn’t respond.Cassian crouched nearby, his expression grim. “It’s getting worse.”Selene shot him a glare. “I know that.”Cassian didn’t flinch. “We need to do something now. This isn’t just a wound—Elias cursed him.”Her pulse pounded. “Cursed?”Cassian nodded, his gaze dark. “If we don’t act fast, Ronan won’t be Ronan anymore.”Selene’s grip on Ronan tightened. His body twitched, his muscles locking as if something inside him was trying to claw free.She had seen dark magic before. The way it twisted its victims, leaving nothing of their former sel