The Road to the Reapers' Stronghold
The wind was sharp, slicing through the midnight silence like a blade.
The forest surrounding Silvercrest Academy was ancient, its towering trees bending under the weight of something unseen. A storm was coming—not of wind and rain, but of choices, consequences, and blood.
Ronan walked ahead, his shoulders squared, his breathing even. But inside, he was still burning.
Every nerve was wired with the power he had unleashed. The fight with the Reapers had been exhilarating, addictive—like something inside him had been waiting for it.
Waiting to be set free.
Behind him, Selene's silence was deafening.
She had barely looked at him since they left the temple.
Not when the Reapers surrounded them.
Not when they crossed into enemy territory.
Not even now, as they neared the Reapers' fortress.
She was angry.
But it wasn't just anger.
It was something deeper.
Kael, never one to tolerate silence, sighed dramatically. "Well, this is fun."
Selene didn't respond.
Kael smirked. "Come on, Nightshade. Say something. Anything. Maybe yell at him? Call him an idiot? You're making this way too easy for him."
Ronan exhaled sharply. "Kael—"
"I mean, he basically just signed a contract with people who've been trying to kill him," Kael continued. "And not just him—you too. And now we're waltzing into their fortress like obedient little pets."
"Shut. Up." Selene's voice was quiet, but the sharp edge in it could have cut through steel.
Kael grinned. "Ah. There she is."
Selene's hands clenched at her sides, but she still didn't look at Ronan.
And for the first time since they left the temple, Ronan felt uneasy.
Because Selene never hesitated.
She never second-guessed herself, never faltered.
But right now, she was at war with herself.
And Ronan didn't know if he was on the winning side.
She couldn't look at him.
Because if she did, she might do something reckless.
Something she couldn't take back.
Selene had fought beside Ronan since the moment he stepped foot into Silvercrest. She had been the one to teach him, to guide him, to believe in him when everyone else called him a mistake.
And now?
Now he was walking toward his own destruction.
She knew how the Reapers worked.
They weren't warriors. They weren't protectors.
They were executioners.
Their alliances weren't built on loyalty or trust.
They were built on utility.
And Ronan?
He had just made himself the most valuable tool in their arsenal.
"You don't trust them."
It wasn't a question.
Selene finally looked at him, her violet eyes dark with something he had never seen before.
Not just anger.
"You know what they are, Ronan," she said, voice quiet but firm. "You know what they've done. What they will do to you the moment you're no longer useful."
Ronan didn't look away. "I know."
Selene took a slow step closer. "Then why?"
Because I need answers.
Because I can't keep fighting a battle I don't understand.
Because for the first time, someone is offering me a way forward.
Ronan thought all of those things.
But he didn't say them.
Because deep down, he knew she was right.
And that scared him more than anything.
Blackthorn Keep loomed ahead, a fortress of black stone and iron. The moon sigil of the Reapers was carved into the gates, its jagged edges gleaming under the pale light.
The Reaper Commander led them through without hesitation, his soldiers following in silent formation.
As they entered the courtyard, Ronan's pulse slowed.
There were more Reapers than he expected.
At least fifty soldiers, all clad in black and silver, their expressions unreadable.
But it wasn't them that made his stomach tighten.
It was the man at the center of the courtyard.
A man knelt inside a circle of blood-marked runes, chains wrapped around his arms and neck. His body was covered in old scars, but his presence was what made Ronan's breath catch.
His aura was like a black hole.
A void.
And then—
He looked up.
Ronan's stomach dropped.
Amber eyes, ringed with silver.
Just like his own.
"Took you long enough."
The voice was rough, dry, as if it hadn't been used in years.
The Reaper Commander stopped beside Ronan, arms crossed. "This is Alistair. The last Forsaken to awaken before you."
Ronan took a slow step forward. "How long has he been here?"
Alistair gave a humorless chuckle. "Long enough to know what happens next."
Ronan's stomach twisted. "And what's that?"
Alistair's silver-ringed eyes met his.
"You break. Or you become something worse."
Silence.
Then—
"You don't walk out of here the same person, Ronan Blackwood."
"If you walk out at all."
While Ronan stood before Alistair, deep inside the stronghold, two figures watched from the shadows.
The Reaper Commander stood with his second-in-command, a sharp-eyed woman with raven-black hair.
"He's stronger than we predicted," she said quietly. "Far more controlled than the others."
The Commander nodded. "For now."
She tilted her head. "And if he loses that control?"
The Commander smiled faintly. "Then he becomes exactly what we need him to be."
The woman was silent for a long moment. Then she exhaled. "You think he'll break?"
The Commander didn't answer.
Because they both knew the truth.
They weren't here to train him.
They were here to see how far they could push him before he lost himself completely.
The Reaper Commander stepped forward. "Let's not waste time."
He nodded toward one of the soldiers.
A dagger flashed.
The runes on Alistair's prison shattered.
Alistair stood.
No hesitation. No chains holding him back.
And in a single breath—
The air changed.
A pressure slammed into Ronan's chest, like a force had been unleashed that wasn't meant to exist.
Alistair's canines lengthened, his body tensing, his aura suffocating.
Selene cursed under her breath. "This isn't a fight—it's execution!"
But Ronan wasn't listening.
Because the power inside him was responding.
It recognized Alistair.
Like a beast recognizing another predator.
"Use it."
"Stop fighting like a wolf."
"Fight like what you are."
Ronan exhaled, closing his eyes.
Then—
He let go.
BOOM.
The air shook as raw energy exploded from his body.
Alistair's fist came down—but this time, Ronan caught it.
A grin spread across Alistair's face.
"There it is."
The fight didn't end.
Not yet.
But something had changed.
As Ronan stood his ground, his hands glowing with power he couldn't fully control yet, the Reaper Commander watched with quiet interest.
Selene's fists were clenched at her sides.
Kael's smirk had faded slightly.
And Alistair?
Alistair laughed.
"You're going to break," he said. "Or you're going to become something they can't stop."
Ronan's chest rose and fell.
His heart pounded.
And deep inside him, for the first time—
The whispers stopped.
He had made his choice.
Now, he had to survive it.