The wind had shifted.
Aria felt it the moment they emerged from the Cradle's depths. The moon was no longer red, but its light was too quiet—like it was holding its breath. Though the battle had been won, the world didn't feel saved.
She leaned against Kael's side, still recovering. His arm wrapped around her protectively, and she listened to the beat of his heart beneath the torn fabric of his shirt. The quiet strength in his embrace should've reassured her—but it didn't.
Something unspoken hung between them, fragile and sharp.
Even Kael's presence couldn't silence the nagging echo in her soul.
The Voidborn lives in you.
---
They returned to the edge of the forest by nightfall. Seraphine vanished as she always did, leaving behind a single silver feather. Raekon retreated to the shadows of the trees, brooding and silent. Nyla and Lyra set up camp, their banter noticeably absent. A strange tension lingered in the group.
Kael stayed close to Aria, but something had changed in his gaze. There was concern… but also uncertainty. He watched her differently now—as if trying to find something beneath her skin.
Aria saw it. Felt it.
And it hurt.
---
"You're quiet," Aria said that night as they sat by the fire.
Kael's eyes flickered to hers. "You touched the Voidborn. You let it speak to you."
She nodded. "It's part of me, Kael. I didn't choose it."
"But maybe you wanted it. That kind of power..."
Her breath caught. "You think I wanted that darkness?"
"I don't know what to think."
She rose to her feet, pain flaring in her chest. "Then maybe you don't know me at all."
She turned and walked into the trees, her footsteps silent but heavy.
Behind her, Kael didn't follow.
---
She didn't stop until she reached a quiet glade lit by the soft glow of spirit lilies. The water of the stream reflected her red hair and troubled eyes.
She knelt by the edge, heart hammering.
Black mist stirred at the edges of her reflection. She splashed the water away.
"You'll lose them all," a voice whispered.
She spun.
Celene stood at the edge of the glade, cloaked in violet, her beauty cold and otherworldly.
"You," Aria said, rising to her feet.
Celene smirked. "You're easy to find now. That power inside you—it's like a beacon."
Aria readied her magic. "Give me one reason not to end you."
"I came to talk."
"Liar."
Celene took a step forward. "I saw what happened in the Cradle. The Voidborn spoke to you. And now? They don't trust you. Kael doesn't."
"Don't say his name."
"He thinks you wanted that power."
Aria flinched.
Celene smiled. "You feel it too, don't you? The weight of it? The fear? He'll never look at you the same again."
Aria's magic flickered in her hands.
"And Seraphine?" Celene continued. "She wasn't always loyal to your cause. Kael knows. He kept it from you."
"Stop."
"I wonder why."
Aria's voice trembled. "You're just trying to divide us."
Celene laughed. "You're already divided."
Then she vanished in a blink.
---
Aria returned to camp in the deep hours of night. Kael lay near the fire, asleep—or pretending. His brow was furrowed, his jaw tight even in rest.
She curled beside him silently, eyes on the stars.
He didn't reach for her.
---
By morning, she was gone.
Kael bolted upright, panic immediate. Her scent lingered faintly in the clearing. Her cloak was missing.
"Where is she?" he demanded.
Nyla stirred. "She left just before dawn. Didn't say anything. Just... looked lost."
Raekon approached, a scroll in hand. "This was left near the campfire. Moonbound seal."
Kael tore it open.
It was a letter.
A warning from Seraphine—about a betrayal that had long been buried.
A betrayal Kael had suspected.
A betrayal he had kept from Aria.
His face drained of color.
"I was wrong," he whispered.
---
Far from the camp, Aria walked through ancient woods she didn't recognize. Her hood concealed her red hair, and she cloaked her power so tightly it hurt.
She didn't know where she was going.
Only that she couldn't face them now.
Not Kael.
Not the others.
Maybe not even herself.
---
Behind her, something moved.
Dark figures flitted through the trees. Watching. Waiting.
And somewhere, miles away, Kael howled in wolf form—a deep, desperate sound that shook the forest.
But it was too late.
She was already gone.
To be continued...