The night air bit cold against my skin as they dragged me out of the cell. Two Shadowfang guards flanked me, their claws unsheathed, ready in case I resisted. I didn't. My eyes weren't on them—they were on Aria, walking ahead under the pale moonlight.
Her glow had already started to bleed through, faint streaks of silver trailing along her arms like cracks in her skin. She walked with her head high, her posture calm, but I knew that calm was brittle. I'd seen her break before.
We stopped at the edge of a clearing deep within the woods. The trees stretched tall, their branches clawing at the sky. The earth here smelled of blood and damp leaves.
Lyra stood near the center, her violet eyes gleaming as the wind tugged at her dark cloak. "This is your test," she said, her voice cutting through the quiet like a blade. "A rogue pack has been hunting near our borders. You're going to deal with them."
Aria's eyes flickered, silver burning faintly in the dark. "Deal with… or slaughter?"
Lyra's smirk curved faintly. "Whatever keeps them from coming back."
She gestured to the guards, who shoved me toward a nearby rock outcrop. My hands were chained, my legs bound, but my eyes never left Aria. Lyra tilted her head toward me. "He stays here. If you falter, if you lose control, he'll see it… and I'll end both of you."
Aria's jaw tightened, but she didn't answer. She turned instead toward the trees, where movement flickered—shadows weaving between the trunks. The rogues were already circling.
A low growl rumbled through the clearing as the first one stepped out. Bigger than most, with patchy black fur and wild, feral eyes. Two more followed, their steps uneven, their hunger clear. They weren't a proper pack anymore. Just predators driven by instinct.
The silver glow along Aria's arms brightened. Her claws slid free, sharp and gleaming under the moonlight. Her breathing slowed, controlled, as she whispered something I barely caught.
"Not tonight… not yet."
The first rogue lunged without warning. Aria moved fast, twisting aside and slashing across its shoulder. The blow didn't kill, but it sent the wolf sprawling, yelping in pain.
The second rogue came at her from behind, but she ducked low, catching its throat with one clawed hand and slamming it into the dirt. Her movements were fluid, but every strike, every dodge, made the glow inside her burn brighter, hotter.
I could feel it, even from where I was chained—the Veilborn's whispers pushing at her edges, urging her to give in. To stop holding back.
The third wolf lunged, faster than the others. It knocked her off her feet, its jaws snapping close to her throat. For a heartbeat, I saw it—the silver light surging beneath her skin, her pupils vanishing, her lips parting as something not her hissed low and cold.
"End them. All of them."
Her claws tore through the rogue in a single, brutal motion. Too much force. Too much hunger.
The first two wolves froze, their hackles rising, sensing something far worse than her claws. The glow spread across her body now, tracing her veins like molten silver. Her breath came fast, ragged. She wasn't in control anymore.
"Aria!" My voice cut through the night. "Anchor to me! Not it—me!"
For a second, her head turned toward me. Her gaze locked on mine, silver swirling wildly in her eyes. The wolves used that moment to strike, lunging together.
She didn't move away. She didn't dodge. She caught them both mid-air, her claws burning as they howled in pain. Her voice came out layered, part hers, part something older.
"They don't deserve mercy."
The glow flared, threatening to swallow her whole.
And then… she hesitated. Her grip faltered. The Veilborn screamed through her, urging her to finish it, but she slammed her claws into the ground instead, forcing the glow to retreat. The wolves scrambled back into the trees, tails low, vanishing into the shadows.
Aria dropped to her knees, trembling, her glow dimming to faint embers beneath her skin.
Lyra's slow clap echoed through the clearing. "Impressive. You didn't lose yourself. Not completely."
She glanced at me, her smile sharp. "But that was only the first hunt. The next won't be so forgiving."
As the guards dragged me forward, Aria's head lifted, her silver eyes locking with mine. For the first time tonight, I saw something that wasn't exhaustion or rage.
I saw fear.
Not of Lyra. Not of the rogues.
Of herself.