Bound By The Moon: The Eternal Bond - Chapter 53: Chapter 53

The dressing room was silent, save for the hiss of candles and the whisper of silk as Julia shifted in her seat. The maids had long gone, leaving only the heavy scent of rosewater and polished wood.
She stared into the mirror. The face reflected back was hers and not hers—cheeks rouged, lips painted, her hair woven into a jeweled crown that glittered like a constellation. The crimson gown clung like flame, every breath making the silk ripple as though alive. Yet beneath the surface shimmered something darker: the memory of frost.
Her mind pulled her back. The coffin. Ice crusted along its edges. Valen’s body inside—pale, too still, lips tinged faintly blue. Her hand had pressed to his chest until she swore she felt a faint, struggling beat. And the woman—tall, regal, her eyes ancient and unyielding. Selene. The lost hybrid queen. Valen’s mother.
Julia’s fingers curled hard around the vanity. Valen’s mother was alive. Guarding him. Protecting him. A secret hidden from the world.
“You are loveliest when you are lost in thought, my butterfly.”
Kaelith’s voice poured into the silence. Julia met his reflection in the mirror: dark cloak, shadow clinging to him like smoke. He moved toward her, slow, deliberate. His hand brushed a curl from her temple, cold fingers grazing her skin. Her pulse betrayed her.
“You should knock,” she whispered.
“I don't need permission to see what's mine?” His smile was sharp. “Tonight, you will be mine before them all too.”
Julia forced her shoulders straight. She took his arm when he offered it. She had no choice.
The ballroom was ablaze with light. Chandeliers spilled molten gold across black marble floors. Velvet drapes as red as spilled wine framed tall windows. Music threaded through the hum of voices—violins weaving a haunting waltz.
All eyes turned when Kaelith led Julia inside. Her gown shimmered like a living flame, her train trailing in crimson waves. Whispers rippled through the crowd—envy, curiosity, hunger. Samantha’s calm face appeared across the room, her subtle smile a silent signal. But Jessy was nowhere to be seen.
Kaelith soon drifted toward a cluster of nobles, leaving Julia briefly alone. She caught Samantha slipping through the garden doors and followed minutes later.
Cold air struck her skin outside. The garden smelled of damp earth and roses. Samantha waited in the shadows, pacing like a wolf caught between instincts.
“What happened?” Julia whispered.
“Valen cannot leave the cold chamber,” Samantha murmured. Her eyes flicked to the dark. “Not yet.”
Julia’s chest tightened. “I wasn’t even allowed to see him properly last night—”
“Come.” Samantha caught her hand. They hurried through the silent corridors, their footsteps muffled by stone. The air grew colder until it bit their throats. The door opened, and frost-laden air rushed around them.
Selene sat beside the coffin, posture regal, her hair black as night, eyes gleaming with centuries. She turned as Julia rushed forward.
“Valen…” Julia’s breath broke. She pressed her palm to the glass lid. His skin beneath looked like marble. “Tell me how to bring him back.”
Selene studied her, silent for a long moment, a queen weighing a subject’s worth. Her gaze softened briefly before she rose and crossed to the shelves. Fingers lingered over spines until she drew an ancient tome. A page bloomed with the illustration of a golden flower.
“This,” Selene said. “The golden Bloom. It flowers only on the full moon—three nights from now. With it, he may return.”
Julia’s breath quickened. “Where? And why didn't you do it before?”
The door creaked. Samantha’s head snapped up, eyes flashing. “We must leave. Now.”
Julia’s heart lurched. She turned back to Selene, desperate. “Where do I find it?”
Selene’s lips parted—but Samantha seized Julia’s wrist, dragging her back through the shadows. “I smell another vampire near. We cannot risk it.”
By the time Julia stumbled back into the ballroom, the chandeliers still burned, the waltz still swelled, and the world pretended nothing had shifted. But her mind spun with frost and flowers, and Valen’s still face haunted her with every breath.
“Where have you been, butterfly?” Kaelith’s voice cut close. He stepped toward her, eyes narrowing with concern.
Before Julia could answer, another presence slid between them.
Lysaria. She glided forward in silver silk, beauty cold enough to slice. Her eyes, sharp as glass, lingered on Julia before flicking to Kaelith.
“You look…” Lysaria’s smile curved, savoring the pause, “…perfect.”
Julia’s lips pressed tight. Kaelith remained still, his face unreadable.
Lysaria’s laughter was low, sweet and venomous. “Tell me, Kaelith. Does she shine brighter because she is rare—or because you stole her?”
The guests attention was now drawn to them. Julia’s chest tightened.
Lysaria leaned closer, her gaze slicing. “Does he know, little human? Does he know another marked you first?”
Julia froze. The crowd stirred, whispers gathering like a storm.
Kaelith’s expression darkened. “What are you saying?”
“Ask your Julia,” Lysaria purred. Her eyes glinted with cruelty. “Or ask her friend. Jessy.”
Julia’s head whipped toward the crowd. There—Jessy stood at the edge, with a slight smirk that didn't go unnoticed to Julia . Her silence screamed louder than any confession.
Julia’s heart plummeted. Betrayal burned her throat raw. She wouldn't believe that Jessy would turn against her and Samantha one day.
Lysaria’s smile sharpened. A goblet appeared in her hand. With a flick of her wrist, blood spilled, splattering across Julia’s chest. Gasps tore through the music. The metallic scent thickened the air—sharp, intoxicating, dangerous. Vampires stirred, eyes glowing, hunger rippling like a tide.
Julia staggered back, heat soaking her gown, crimson silk darkening to near black.
“First marked by a wolf,” Lysaria declared, her voice ringing clear across the hall. “Now consort to a king. Tell them, Julia—whose mate are you really. And what is your purpose here at our land?”
Her words were the blade. Julia’s lips trembled, panic twisting inside her chest. Valen’s name trembled on her tongue, unbidden. “I… I—”
The hall erupted. Voices clashed—betrayal, wolf’s mate, spy. The hunger in the air shifted darker, sharper. Julia swayed, her mask shattering.
Kaelith’s gaze pinned her, fury and disbelief storming in his eyes. Betrayal carved across his face.
The music was gone. The chandeliers burned too bright. The ballroom itself seemed to hold its breath.
Then Kaelith moved. In one blur of motion he stood before her, his shadow stretching long across the floor. His hand clamped around her wrist, cold as iron. Gasps echoed through the crowd.
“You deceived me,” he said, voice a razor. “A wolf’s mate. And all this time you wore his mark.”
Julia’s breath caught. “Kaelith, please—”
“Silence.” The word cracked like thunder. Shadows writhed along the marble, stirred by his rage. Nobles pressed back, whispers rising to a fevered pitch.
Lysaria watched with delighted cruelty, her smile widening.
Kaelith’s grip on her wrist was iron, his eyes burning like twin furnaces.
“Tell me it is a lie, butterfly. Look at me—say her words are venom, and I will burn this hall to ash for daring to mock you.”
Julia’s lips trembled. Valen’s name tore free before she could stop it. “I am mated to the alpha of the South. Valen. But I am not—”
The rest drowned beneath Kaelith’s laughter—low, jagged, humorless. It echoed through the vaulted hall like the breaking of glass.
“A wolf,” he spat. Shadows writhed at his feet, twisting across the marble. “You let a beast brand you before you ever came to me. And all this time, you wore his mark under my touch.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Julia tried to speak, but his fury crashed over her like a storm.
“You deceived me. Before my court, before my blood, before me. I should rip the lie from your throat—tear it free so you never speak his name again.” His fangs glinted, his voice a razor’s edge.
He leaned close, his breath cold against her ear. “But no. Death is mercy, and you deserve none. From this night forth, you are nothing. Not mine. Not welcomed.”
He flung her hand away, and the shadows burst outward in a violent gale. Nobles stumbled back, silk whipping in the storm of his wrath.
The music was gone, the hall trembling under his power. And at its center stood Julia, blood on her gown, her world collapsing under Kaelith’s rage.