The wind howled between the peaks, the sun veiled behind thick clouds as Onyx soared toward the mountains—silent, steady, and certain.
Nova didn't ask where they were going. She didn't need to. She could feel it in the way Onyx flew—how his body was loose but purposeful, like instinct was guiding him. Her arms curled tighter around his neck as the weight in her chest refused to lift. Everything hurt. Her head. Her ribs. Her heart.
He landed with a soft thud on a wide stone ledge high above the valley, at the mouth of a cave nestled into the cliffside. A place no one could see. Somewhere safe.
Nova slid off slowly, barely noticing the way Onyx nosed her gently toward the entrance. She stepped inside, the chill of the cave rushing over her skin. It was quiet—no wind, no voices, no judgment. Just the slow drip of distant water and the warmth of dragon heat still lingering in the stone.
She walked to the back and sat on the cool rock, knees pulled to her chest, head in her hands. She sobbed for a bit letting it all out. Then her tears turned silent.
She focused on her breathing and Onyx, entirely unaware of his size, snuggled against her.
And that's where Rex found her.
His dragon had known where Onyx was and Rex had followed his gut. He didn't call her name when he landed. Didn't say a word as he stepped into the large mouth of the cave. There sat Nova and Onyx.
He saw her there, with her face in her hands, hunched, like she had just committed murder or did something horrible.
Rex walked forward and sank to his knees in front of her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.
Nova didn't fight it.
She melted into him, pressing her face to his chest as the dam inside her cracked. With sobs again. The painful kind that only those who were truly exhausted carried.
Rex held her tighter.
"Nova, it's okay." he murmured into her hair. "Just breathe. I've got you."
Onyx stood up brushing some sticks together in the corner with his tail. He breathed onto the pile, creating a warm fire. He moved back over to Nova and curled up next to her. She sat with her arms wrapped around her knees.
Rex held her for a while and then sat beside her and pulled her into him.
After a long moment, Nova drew in a breath, pulling away and looking forward. Her voice came out hoarse, like it had been clawing at her throat for hours.
"The past eleven days have been a nightmare."
Rex stilled, watching her.
"A comedy of disasters," Nova murmured, her voice dry. She didn't look at him—only stared into the fire, as if the flames might make sense of everything unraveling inside her.
"I found out my mate had a fated bond… and I made the impossible choice to sever ours, even though he begged me not to." Her tone wavered for the first time. "I knew I had to. He deserved that chance—a second bond like that is almost unheard of."
She inhaled slowly, like she was trying to steady something inside herself.
"When you break a matebond, it's not just breaking the relationship that hurts. Not just the mark burning off of your skin. It turns out, it actually severs your soul. I felt like I couldn't breathe for days. Because Jax had a fated mate, his soul was able to attach onto her. But I can't feel a matebond yet, so it hit me full force. It knocked me out for a day."
"I woke up heartbroken and with the worst possible feeling in my chest that wouldn't go away." She began quietly, her voice trembling, "Only to find out that I do have a fated mate after all. But he didn't want me for months. He was planning on breaking the bond with me as soon as I came of age."
Her voice cracked. Rex continued holding her, not giving away the storm inside his own heart hearing her words.
She drew a shaky breath. "He had an opportunity to claim me to his council, but chose not to. So instead, Jax did. Jax never hesitated with me. I had just started to get to know Fin, after months of living there and being his Gamma's mate. I thought we were developing a friendship."
Her voice cracked slightly as she continued, the words thick in her throat. "He explains that he avoided me for months and fought it. And expected me to believe that—that there wasn't s-something w-w-wrong with m-me."
She swallowed hard, her eyes fixed on the fire again. "It was hard to accept, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I chose to believe in him." A pause—quiet, final. "But now… I'm starting to think he made the wrong choice."
His fingers tightened around her. Rex didn't interrupt.
"A f-few d-days after that," she said slowly, voice low and trembling with restraint, "we held a ceremony for the new Gamma and Luna coronations. And I watched Jax's mate—his fated mate—get rejected by our ancestors. So I ran to help her. Jax didn't move. Won't look at me. Won't help her or look at her. He… he was like a stranger. A completely different man than the one I knew."
She drew in a careful breath, her gaze still locked on the fire.
"The ancestors said our bond was stronger than what he had with Marra. I fought for her. They deserve to be happy and Marra is a good person. I couldn't let her or him be torn apart more."
Her voice grew quieter. "They agreed in the end."
There was a long pause.
"Then it was my turn. I stepped forward, and placed my hand in the ceremonial flame to complete the coronation."
Her breath hitched. "The fire exploded to the ceiling. And then came the whispering—from the Shadowclaw ancestors. Not just a message… a warning. A riddle from hell about what's coming. The order of events and operations for the next thirty days. Every event. Every d-d-death. Specific instructions on what to do, but still a riddle." She swallowed.
Her voice cracked then, barely audible. "They said it was my burden to carry alone."
She let out a breath that shook, but she didn't cry. She just stared ahead—calm, still, unraveling quietly at the seams.
"When I tried to remove my hand from the gold fire, Jax's ancestors pulled me back in to tell me that Jax's death is on me for helping Marra. I mean we're all going to d-d-die anyways according to F-Fin's bunch… they should really communicate with one another." She let out a dark laugh.
She exhaled slowly, still staring into the fire, her voice quieter now but no less weighted.
"So—I followed the order of operations. Just as they instructed. I marked Fin." Her tone wavered for the first time. "He was supposed to sleep for seven days. But because we woke him up early, his powers won't develop fully until fourteen days. We're supposed to need him before that for gods only know what. We've already messed up that part."
"Then the summit is called—just like they predicted. I'm left to represent him. I was just getting the hang of being a Gamma Luna and now I'm a queen."
Rex's throat bobbed, but still he let her speak.
"I had no idea what I'm doing." she admitted, slowly, each word pressed from her like truth was something heavy to hold. "None."
She paused, her voice thinning.
"And yesterday, I don't even fully recall all of it." Her brows drew together, gaze distant. "I remember it while doing it, but not the decision. Not the moment it happened. It wasn't entirely… me."
Her forehead dropped lightly to her knees, the gesture a quiet surrender to the weight of it all. A few long breaths passed before she raised her head again, her voice quieter now, hoarse from restraint.
"And the one person whose role I've tried to uphold—whose shoes I've come to respect even more…"
Her lips parted, but it took her a moment to finish the thought.
"Wouldn't even look at me." Her eyes shimmered, but her voice remained steady. "I had failed him and risked his name. I angered him for putting his life in danger because his soul is tied to mine. I wasted his time yesterday. He said I didn't act like a queen."
She swallowed hard, a silent tear fell from her eyes.
"He … he made a mistake in choosing me." She said, sucking in a breath of air.
The cave fell quiet. Only the soft crackling of fire remained, and the breath of mountain wind slipping through stone.
A silent tear fell down her cheek. Rex wiped it with his thumb and pulled her into his chest. His heart was cracking for her. He felt her through the matebond and she felt like she did something wrong. Seeing her cry broke him.
He kissed the top of her head.
Silence. Just the quiet flick of the flames and the whisper of wind.
"To be fair," she said at last, her voice steady but worn at the edges. "I wasn't brought up as royalty or trained for war or courts. In Ashbane, by the time I was ten, my rank was of a slave."
"So if you ever hear I rose from omega to queen…" she laughed, "That's not the truth. I went from slave to queen."
"Fin might be better off with someone who can play this role the way he desires. My instincts aren't in sync with his." She said, in defeat.
The words settled like iron between them, final and undeniable.