The lantern in our cell burned low, casting long shadows against the damp stone walls. The silence was heavy, broken only by the faint hum of the runes etched into the floor—reminders of the cage we couldn't escape.
Aria lay stretched on the cold ground, staring at the ceiling. Her silver-flecked eyes caught the faint light, but there was no warmth in them, only a distant calm that felt more like exhaustion than peace.
I sat near the barred door, watching her. Watching, because I couldn't stop thinking about the night I'd rejected her.
The words still echoed in my mind. The cold finality. The way she'd looked at me—not with anger, but with something worse. Like she'd seen a stranger wearing my face.
"Why are you staring?" Her voice broke the quiet, soft but steady.
"Thinking," I said.
She rolled onto her side, propping herself up on one elbow. "About what? The fact that you're chained in a hole with the mate you didn't want?"
Her tone wasn't sharp, but it wasn't soft either. Just… even. Which somehow cut deeper.
I met her gaze, letting the silence stretch before answering. "About the fact that I was an idiot."
She didn't blink. "Oh? And now, suddenly, you're not?"
I exhaled slowly. "When I rejected you, I thought I was protecting my pack. My crown. I thought… if I cut you loose, none of this would touch us. That the curse, the Veilborn, everything—would die with distance."
Aria's jaw tightened, though her expression didn't change. "And now?"
"Now," I said, my voice low, "I realize I cut away the one thing I should've fought for. And it didn't save anyone. It just left us both broken."
Her eyes searched mine for a moment, and for the first time in weeks, I thought I saw something soften there. But it vanished as quickly as it came.
"Regret doesn't change the past," she murmured. "And it won't stop what's inside me."
Before I could answer, the cell door creaked open. Two Shadowfang guards stepped inside, followed by Lyra, her violet eyes gleaming like polished stone.
"Good," she said, glancing at Aria. "You're awake. Your first mission begins tonight."
I rose to my feet, stepping between them before I even thought about it. "She's barely recovered. She's not ready."
Lyra's smirk was faint, but it carried steel. "She doesn't need to be ready. She needs to be willing. Besides…" Her gaze slid to Aria. "If she doesn't go, you don't leave this room alive."
Aria was on her feet in an instant, the glow beneath her skin flickering faintly. "If you touch him—"
Lyra raised a hand. "Then earn his safety. Prove you can control what's inside you. If you fail, his death will be quick. If you succeed…" Her smile widened slightly. "Maybe you'll both walk out of here."
Aria's breath was slow, measured, but I saw the storm in her eyes. She didn't answer Lyra. She just turned to me, her voice low and firm.
"Stay alive. I'll handle this."
I caught her wrist before she turned away, my grip gentle but unyielding. "Aria—don't let it take you. I don't care what it costs. Come back yourself, not… whatever it wants you to be."
Her hand lingered in mine a moment longer than it should have. Then she pulled free, stepping toward the open door, her glow already beginning to rise.
Lyra's voice followed her as the door closed behind them. "If she loses control, Alpha… I'll let you watch before I end her."
For the first time in years, I realized my claws had unsheathed without me noticing. Because if Lyra kept her word, I wasn't sure I could.