Raven
The sound of steel clashing against stone echoed through the monastery's lower hall.
It wasn't weapons.
It was memory.
Raven stood in the center of the ancient sanctum—a circular chamber lined with worn symbols and markings she hadn't seen since she was a girl. The last time she was here, she had been hiding from a storm, clinging to Isabella's hand.
Now, she was the storm.
Viero walked slowly around her, marking her aura with ash and chalk, reciting rites in a dialect that made her bones hum.
"You said I'm the lock," Raven whispered. "What does that mean, exactly?"
He paused. "Your blood carries the dormant eclipse. Shadow that doesn't destroy—but contains. You were born to hold the fire back. To cradle it without being consumed."
"And if I fail?"
Viero's gaze darkened. "The fire becomes hunger. It chooses her. Not you. Not Aurelio. Him."
Raven's fists clenched. "Then I won't fail."
---
Aurelio
In the upper courtyard, Aurelio trained.
Not with weapons.
With flame.
The ring no longer burned—it breathed. It responded. Each motion of his body called to the fire in the earth, in the sky, in himself.
Viero's training had started days ago, and already the power surged with clarity.
He could feel Luna's emotions before she even entered a room.
He could feel Raven's shadow curling protectively around his flame—even when they were apart.
He was becoming what the Santoros were always meant to be.
But it scared him.
Because if he ever lost control, even for a second—he might take everything he loved with him.
---
Luna
In the chapel, Luna sat in front of the gate again.
Not a dream this time.
A vision.
The man stood before her again—Giacomo's ghost-shadow. But he didn't smile this time. He looked… hungry.
"You're getting stronger," he said. "That's good. They'll trust you more when it's time."
Luna shook her head. "You're not my family."
"I'm in your blood."
"You're not my Papa."
The ghost lunged—only to slam into a barrier of light and fire, shaped like her mother's hands, her father's chest, her own courage.
"I don't need you," she whispered.
And the vision shattered.
---
Raven & Aurelio
Later that night, they stood at the altar together—Luna asleep under protective wards, Isabella watching from the shadows.
"You said you were afraid," Raven said.
"I still am," Aurelio replied.
"Me too."
They didn't kiss.
They leaned into each other.
Foreheads touching.
A promise forged in silence.
Not for war.
But for her.
---
Elsewhere – Cesare
The ritual was nearing completion.
But Cesare's hand trembled.
The seal was cracking faster than they anticipated. Not from corruption.
From balance.
"They're uniting," he whispered.
Giacomo's ghost narrowed his eyes. "Then we separate them. Tear them apart."
Cesare looked into the mirror, saw the family he once tried to protect.
And made the call.
"Unleash the fractured."