"Aria," Luca started quietly, his voice strained but earnest, "we've lost too much already. I don't know how many more betrayals we can survive before everything comes apart." His hand, scarred and trembling, rested near his chest—a silent testament to the battles he'd fought for our future.
I met his stare firmly. "Luca, our bond is our strength. It is the promise of the Crescent to every one of its adherents. Although the past has been nasty, it does not define us. What we decide to be today defines us. My voice trembled with both vulnerability and determination. I yearned desperately at that moment for him to see the hope I had cultivated deep within me—a hope from which our legacy might rise from the ashes of treachery.
