The Lycan King stepped closer, his presence suffocating. The air around Aurora grew cold, the sacred grove's crystalline light dimming as his darkness encroached further. She felt the Pact's energy within her, once a steady warmth, now flickering like a dying flame. "You've fought valiantly, Luna," the Lycan King said, his voice low and taunting. "But even the strongest lights fade in time. Hand over the child, and I'll spare the pack. Your sacrifice will ensure their survival."

Aurora clenched her fists, her silver hair damp with sweat as she forced herself upright. "You'll get nothing from me," she spat, though her voice trembled.

The Lycan King's smile widened, cruel and knowing. "Your defiance is admirable, but it's futile. The Pact bends to my will. Look around you the grove is dying, just like your precious resistance."

As his words sank in, Aurora felt the energy of the Pact ripple through her, unstable and chaotic. The celestial fragment in her hand flared weakly, responding to her desperation. She could sense the life within her, tied irrevocably to the magic she wielded. "Your child," the Lycan King continued, his tone softening into something almost fatherly, "is already mine. Their essence fuels my ascension. Denying me only prolongs their suffering."

Aurora's chest tightened, her resolve shaken. She closed her eyes, searching for the steady rhythm of the Pact's connection within her. Instead, she found discord-raw power threatening to tear itself apart.noveldrama

Cassian's voice broke through her spiraling thoughts. "Aurora! Don't listen to him!"

She turned, her heart twisting at the sight of Cassian struggling to his feet. Blood streaked his face, and his movements were sluggish, but his golden eyes burned with determination.

"You're stronger than this," Cassian shouted, his voice hoarse. "You've always been stronger."

Aurora's hand tightened around the fragment, its light flaring briefly as Cassian's words steadied her. She turned back to the Lycan King, her silver eyes blazing with defiance.

"You'll never have my child," she said, her voice firm. "And you'll never control the Pact."

The Lycan King's expression darkened, his aura swelling as he unleashed another wave of shadow magic. Aurora raised the celestial fragment, its energy surging in response to her will. Light and darkness collided, the grove trembling violently under the strain. Aurora pushed back with everything she had, the celestial energy coursing through her in a desperate bid to hold him off. The light from the fragment illuminated her determined face, but the strain was visible-her body trembling, her breaths labored.

The Lycan King snarled, the force of his power forcing Aurora to her knees. "You can't save them," he hissed. "You can't even save yourself."

The grove's crystals began to crack, the once-stable energy spiraling out of control. Aurora's vision blurred, her body weakening under the immense pressure.

"Cassian," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Through the haze of light and shadow, she heard him calling her name, his voice a lifeline. Aurora clung to it, forcing herself to rise one last time.

"I'm not done yet," she said, her voice a quiet defiance against the darkness.

But as the collision of powers reached its peak, the fragment shattered in her hands. Aurora collapsed, her vision fading into darkness as the Lycan King's laughter echoed in her ears.