<b>CHAPTER </b><b>129 </b>


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    The cavern shook as the sorcerer’s shadows poured toward us, a tide of ws and teeth. The Ash Queen’s fire zed brighter than ever, holding them back in bursts, but even her strength was beginning to fade. Elias’s wolf tore through the creatures, his golden eyes wild, but <b>still </b>they kepting.


    The heart pulsed at the center of the chamber, its light flickering under the sorcerer’s grip. The glow was raw, alive, its power pressing against my skin like fire and lightning all at once. I staggered closer, drawn to it, even as fear coiled inside me.


    “That’s the only way.” I said, breathless. “The heart–it’s the only thing strong enough to destroy him.”


    The Ash Queen snapped her head toward me, her face grim. “If you take it into yourself, girl, the realm will bind you here. You’ll never leave.”


    Elias shed a shadow beast in half, his chest heaving. He shifted back, looking at me then, his eyes burning with both love and fear. “No.” He growled. “Not her. There has to be another way.”


    The sorcerer’sughter rolled through the chamber. “Yes, wolf. Let her try. Let her burn. The heart will consume her before it ever harms me.”


    I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling the bond pulsing between Elias and me. The sorcerer’s words dug sharp, but for once, I didn’t falter. The bond was alive, strong, unbroken despite everything. And in that moment, a thought struck me.


    “What if…” My voice shook, but I forced the words out. “What if we don’t face it alone? What if we take it together?”


    Elias’s head snapped toward me. “Lyra-”


    “No, listen.” I said quickly, my hands trembling but my heart steady. “The heart binds whoever ims it. That’s what the Queen said. But our bond–it links us. If we share it, if we let the heart flow into both of us… then neither of us will be tied here. We’ll carry it together.”


    The Ash Queen’s eyes widened. For a heartbeat, she looked almost shaken. Then she gave the smallest nod. “It could work. If your bond is strong enough, the heart may divide itself between you. It will make you protectors of the realm–but it will not cage you.”


    The sorcerer snarled, shadows writhing around him. “Fools! You think love is enough to im the heart? It will tear you apart.”


    < CHAPTER 129


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    But Elias was already moving toward me, blood streaking his skin, golden eyes burning brighter than ever. He cupped my face with his trembling hands, his breath hot against mine. “If it means saving you–saving us–I’ll risk everything.”


    My throat closed, tears stinging my eyes. “We do this together. Always.”


    He pressed his forehead against mine. “Always.<b>” </b>


    The Ash Queen’s fire surged behind us, holding back another wave of shadows. “Do it now!” She shouted. “Before he corrupts the heartpletely!”


    Elias grabbed my hand, our fingers locking tight. Together, we stepped into the glow of the


    heart.


    It was like walking into a storm.


    The light seared through my skin, flooding into me, into us, like fire poured straight into our veins. I screamed, my body trembling, but Elias’s grip held me steady. His presence in the bond burned bright, wrapping around me, grounding me.


    <i>I’m </i><i>here</i><i>, </i>his voice whispered through the bond, strong and steady. <i>Hold </i><i>on </i><i>to </i><i>me</i><i>. </i>


    I clung to him, our souls pressed together, our love zing hotter than the fire that threatened to rip us apart. The heart pushed, wild and furious, trying to tether itself, but it couldn’t decide. Not one vessel. Two.


    So it chose both.


    The light split, half flooding into me, half into Elias. Our bond red brighter than ever, weaving us together with golden fire. The pain became something else–something sharp but pure, like the birth of something greater.


    The cavern exploded with light. The sorcerer staggered back, shrieking, shadows writhing like they were burning alive. “No! You cannot wield it! It’s mine!” <fn4eb1> Get full chapters from fι?dnοvel</fn4eb1>


    I lifted my hand, light zing from my palm. Elias mirrored me, golden fire sparking from his ws. Together, our powers merged, a torrent of searing light and me.


    The shadows howled as the st tore through them, unraveling the creatures into smoke. The sorcerer roared, his monstrous form buckling under the force. He wed at the heart’s energy, trying to drag it into himself, but we pushed back harder, our love zing brighter than his hatred.


    “You will never have her!” Elias roared, his voice shaking the chamber.


    “And you will never break us!” I screamed, pouring everything into the bond.


    < CHAPTER 129


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    The heart surged again, answering us, pouring its raw magic through our joined hands. The power of the realm itself flowed into us, not to consume, but toplete.


    The sorcerer’s body began to tear apart. Shadows ripped from his form, unraveling like smoke in the wind. His scream shook the cavern, his voice filled with rage and fear.


    “No! I am eternal! You cannot destroy me!”


    “Yes, we can.” Elias growled.


    Together, we unleashed the heart.


    The st of light filled the chamber, brighter than the sun, searing through every shadow, every creature, every crack of corruption. The sorcerer shrieked one final time, his body splitting into fragments of ck smoke before the light swallowed him whole.


    And then–silence.


    The cavern stilled. The shadows were gone. The sorcerer was gone.


    The heart pulsed once, twice, then settled, glowing soft and steady at the chamber’s core. Its energy hummed inside us now, shared between Elias and me, woven into our bond.


    My knees buckled, and Elias caught me before I fell. His chest heaved, sweat and blood streaking his skin, but his eyes burned golden and alive.


    “We did it.” He whispered, pressing his forehead to mine. His voice was raw, but filled with awe. “Goddess, we actually did it.”


    I let out a shakingugh, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Together.”


    “Always.<i>” </i>He breathed.


    The Ash Queen approached slowly, her fire dim now, her crown glinting faintly. She looked at us, her expression unreadable for a long moment. Then she bowed her head, just slightly.


    “The sorcerer is gone.” She said. “The heart has chosen you both. You are its protectors now. Guardians of the realm<i>.</i><i>” </i>


    Elias tensed, his arm tightening around me. “Does that mean we’re bound here?”


    The Queen shook her head. “No. Because you share the heart, it will not chain you. You may leave this realm when you wish–but its power will always flow through you. And when the realm calls, you will hear it.”


    A shiver ran down my spine, but it wasn’t fear. It was purpose.


    < CHAPTER 129


    <b>425 </b>Points


    Elias brushed a strand of hair from my face, his golden eyes soft. “So we can go home.”


    I nodded, pressing my hand against his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart. “But we’ll never truly leave. We’ll always be part of this ce.”


    The Ash Queen’s gaze lingered on us, her voice quiet but firm. “Then may you guard it well. For though the sorcerer is destroyed, darkness always finds its way back. The heart will need you again one day.”


    Her words hung in the air like a warning, sharp and heavy as iron, but I didn’t falter. For the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn’t afraid. Not with Elias beside me. Not with the heart within us, pulsing steady like a promise.


    We turned back toward the tunnels, the faint glow of the heart lighting our way, casting warmth into the shadows. The realm was safe–for now, though its silence reminded us that peace was always borrowed, never permanent.


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