The bamboo road cut through the forest like a pale scar — a narrow path lined with tall, whispering stalks that swayed even when the wind was still. Rowan slowed as they approached it, his hand tightening around Lyra’s.

  “Stay close,” he murmured.

  Lyra nodded, though her heart hammered against her ribs. The air felt wrong here — too open, too exposed. The bamboo creaked softly overhead, like bones shifting in the dark.

  They stepped onto the path.

  The world went silent.

  Then a voice broke it.

  “Rowan.”

  Rowan froze.

  Lyra turned — and saw them.

  Silver Oath knights stepped out from between the bamboo stalks, armor gleaming like cold moonlight. Their cloaks fluttered in the still air. Their swords were already drawn.

  And at their center stood a man Rowan had once called brother.

  Elias.

  He looked older than Rowan remembered him — sharper, colder, his blond hair tied back, his eyes hard as steel. His armor bore the crest of a captain.

  Lyra felt Rowan’s grip tighten.

  “Elias,” Rowan said quietly.

  Elias stepped forward. “You’ve made this difficult.”

  Rowan moved in front of Lyra without thinking. “Let her go. She’s not your enemy.”

  Elias’s gaze flicked to Lyra — not with fear, but with disgust. “She’s a Moon?Wraith. That makes her everyone’s enemy.”

  Lyra flinched.

  Rowan’s voice sharpened. “She’s not what they told us.”

  Elias tilted his head. “You sound like the king.”

  Rowan stiffened. “Don’t.”

  “You remember what happened to him?” Elias asked softly. “He hesitated. He believed one of them could be saved. And it cost him his throne. His life. His kingdom.”

  Rowan’s jaw clenched. “Lyra isn’t—”

  “She’s exactly what he died for,” Elias snapped. “And you’re repeating his mistake.”

  Lyra stepped forward despite Rowan’s arm blocking her. “I didn’t choose this curse.”

  Elias didn’t even look at her. “Monsters never do.”

  Rowan’s sword was in his hand before Lyra even saw him move.

  “Don’t call her that.”

  Elias sighed — a weary, disappointed sound. “You were the best of us, Rowan. The strongest. The most loyal. I would have followed you anywhere.”

  Rowan’s voice was ice. “Then follow me now.”

  Elias shook his head. “Not into damnation.”

  He raised his hand.

  The knights moved.

  Rowan shoved Lyra back just as steel flashed. The first knight lunged — Rowan parried, sparks bursting from the clash. The second swung low; Rowan twisted, kicking him hard enough to send him crashing into the bamboo.

  Lyra backed away, heart racing. She wanted to help — but the moon tugged at her blood, whispering, pulling. Her claws threatened to break through her skin.

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  Not now.

  Not here.

  Not in front of him.

  Rowan fought like a man who had everything to lose.

  Elias watched him with a sorrowful expression, then drew his own blade.

  “Stand down,” Elias said. “I don’t want to kill you.”

  Rowan didn’t answer.

  He charged.

  Their swords collided with a sound that shook the bamboo. Elias was fast — faster than Lyra expected — but Rowan fought with a ferocity she had never seen in him. Every strike was fueled by something deeper than anger.

  Fear.

  Desperation.

  Protectiveness.

  Elias blocked a heavy blow and shoved Rowan back. “You’re throwing your life away for her.”

  Rowan spat blood. “It’s mine to throw.”

  Elias’s expression hardened. “Then die with it.”

  He lunged.

  Rowan barely dodged. Elias’s blade sliced across his shoulder, blood spraying onto the bamboo. Lyra cried out, instinct pulling her forward — but Rowan held up a hand.

  “Stay back!”

  His voice cracked with pain.

  Elias pressed the attack. Rowan parried, stumbled, recovered. Their blades clashed again and again, ringing through the forest like a funeral bell.

  Lyra’s vision blurred. Her heartbeat thundered. The moon’s pull grew stronger with every drop of Rowan’s blood that hit the ground.

  She dug her claws into her palms, fighting it.

  Not now.

  Not now.

  Not now.

  Elias knocked Rowan to one knee.

  “Last chance,” Elias said. “Step aside.”

  Rowan looked up, blood dripping from his jaw.

  “No.”

  Elias’s eyes softened — just for a moment.

  “Then forgive me.”

  He raised his sword.

  Lyra screamed.

  Rowan surged upward, catching Elias’s blade with his own. The impact sent shockwaves up both their arms. Rowan twisted, disarmed Elias, and slammed him into the bamboo.

  Elias hit the ground hard.

  The remaining knights hesitated — just long enough for Rowan to grab Lyra’s hand.

  “Run!”

  They sprinted down the bamboo road, Rowan bleeding heavily, Lyra half?dragging him as the world spun around her.

  Behind them, Elias’s voice echoed through the forest.

  “Let them go! The moon will finish what we couldn’t!”

  Lyra’s blood ran cold.

  Rowan stumbled, collapsing to one knee.

  “Rowan!” she cried, catching him.

  He tried to stand — failed.

  His eyes fluttered.

  “Lyra… keep moving…”

  She shook her head fiercely. “I’m not leaving you.”

  The bamboo swayed overhead, whispering like ghosts.

  Rowan collapsed into her arms.

  And Lyra realized, with a terror deeper than any moon?curse:

  He might not survive the night.