Eclipse Love

Darkness.

It surrounded her, swallowing every breath, every thought, every ounce of control she had.

Selene's body floated in an abyss, weightless, suspended between reality and something far older.

She tried to move, but her limbs wouldn't respond.

She tried to scream, but no sound came out.

Then—

A single whisper.

"You are finally awake."

A sharp gasp tore from Selene's lips as her eyes snapped open.

She wasn't in Vale's chamber anymore.

She wasn't anywhere she recognized.

She was in a world of gold and shadow, a vast sanctuary of ancient power.

The sky above her pulsed with golden light, shifting like a living thing, while the ground beneath her feet felt solid yet unreal, as if it were made of pure energy.

It was a realm that shouldn't exist.

And yet, she was here.

Vale's Domain

Selene's head pounded as she struggled to stand.

Footsteps echoed in the eerie silence, slow and deliberate.

And then—Vale appeared.

Dressed in obsidian and gold, his expression unreadable, he watched her like a predator watches its prey.

"You felt it, didn't you?" he murmured.

Selene clenched her fists. "Felt what?"

Vale smiled. "The power inside you. The truth of what you are."

Her pulse skipped, memories of her transformation in the chamber flashing through her mind.

The flames of gold.The ice that shimmered too bright.The magic that didn't belong to just fire and frost.

Selene swallowed hard. "What did you do to me?"

Vale's golden eyes gleamed. "I didn't do anything. I only opened the door."

Selene's breath hitched.

A part of her knew he was telling the truth.

She had felt something unlock inside her—something ancient and terrifying.

But she refused to let Vale use it against her.

She took a step forward, anger rising. "Where the hell have you taken me?"

Vale exhaled, almost amused.

"This is my sanctuary. The Shadow Nexus. A place that exists between worlds."

Selene's stomach twisted. "Between worlds?"

"Yes." He studied her carefully, as if waiting for the realization to dawn.

And then it did.

She wasn't in the mortal world anymore.

She wasn't anywhere Lucian could reach.

Panic clutched her chest. "No—"

Vale stepped closer, voice smooth as silk. "No one can find you here. Not even him."

Selene's hands trembled, but she lifted her chin, refusing to show weakness.

"You can't keep me here."

Vale's smirk deepened.

"I don't have to. In time, you'll choose to stay."

Selene's rage ignited, her magic surging—but the moment she tried to summon her fire and ice, nothing happened.

Her breath caught.

She tried again. Still nothing.

She was powerless.

Her blood ran cold.

Vale tilted his head. "You're in my domain now, Selene. And here—" he lifted his hand, and golden tendrils of power curled around his fingers— "only my magic answers."

Selene's heart pounded.

She was trapped.

Alone.

Cut off from Lucian.

And she had no way out.

Lucian's Descent

Miles away, in the ruins of Vale's old chamber, Lucian burned.

His power churned through the air, an unstoppable storm of fire and frost.

His veins throbbed with magic, his vision tinted red as rage consumed him.

Selene was gone.

Vale had stolen her.

And Lucian would tear the world apart to get her back.

Astrid and Darius stood at a distance, tense and uncertain.

Lucian's magic was unstable, lashing out in wild bursts.

"Lucian," Darius started, stepping cautiously closer, "we need a plan."

Lucian turned, his silver eyes glowing with a deadly light.

"There is no plan," he growled. "I'm going after her."

Astrid exhaled sharply. "And how the hell do you plan to do that? Vale took her somewhere none of us can track—"

"I don't care." Lucian's voice was lethal. "I'll find him. I'll find her."

Darius swore under his breath. "You're acting reckless—"

Lucian whipped around, his power flaring so violently that the ground cracked beneath him.

"I. DON'T. CARE."

Astrid flinched.

Lucian had always been powerful.

But this—this was something else.

Something darker.

Something dangerous.

Darius stared at him, gaze calculating. "You're changing."

Lucian's jaw tightened.

He knew.

He could feel it.

His magic was evolving—twisting.

And the moment Selene had been taken, something inside him had snapped.

Something was waking up.

Something hungry.

And if he didn't get her back soon—

Lucian wasn't sure he could control it.

Selene's Stand

Selene's breath steadied.

She was trapped in Vale's domain.Cut off from her magic.Alone.

But she refused to break.

Vale wanted her to submit.He wanted her to doubt everything.He wanted her to choose him.

She met his golden gaze, unshaken.

"You might have stolen me away," she said slowly, her voice filled with steel, "but I will never be yours."

Vale's smirk faltered.

For the first time, his golden eyes darkened.

Selene took a step forward, her fear melting into something stronger.

"I am Selene," she whispered, "and I belong to no one but myself."

Power shuddered through her chest, even though she couldn't summon it.

She didn't need her magic to be who she was.

She was more than her fire.More than her ice.More than whatever history Vale was trying to force on her.

Vale watched her, his jaw tightening.

And then, in the silence of the golden realm, he whispered—

"We'll see."

End of Chapter Twenty-Five