Novel-novel oleh Born Great

The world narrowed to pain and motion.Aria was aware of Luca’s arms around her, his heartbeat thunderous against her ear as he carried her through back corridors and sealed exits. Stone blurred past. Voices echoed, distant and frantic.Her blood was warm. Too warm.“Stay with me,” Luca said, his voice tight. “Do not close your eyes.”“I am not going anywhere,” Aria replied, though her vision pulsed at the edges.They emerged into the underground passage that led away from the council district, a route only a handful of families knew existed. Luca moved fast, boots striking stone with lethal purpose.The wound burned.Not like pain.Like awakening.Aria gasped suddenly, fingers digging into Luca’s shoulder. “Stop.”He halted instantly. “What is it.”She pressed her palm to her side. The blood had slowed. No. It had stopped.“That blade,” she said, breath unsteady. “It was not meant to kill me.”Luca frowned. “It nearly did.”“No,” Aria whispered. “It was meant to unlock something.”Th

Aria did not wait for the smoke to clear.She stood at the edge of the ruined hall, eyes fixed on the damage, on the blood staining stone that had once felt unbreakable. The compound was still standing, but its illusion of safety had been ripped apart.They had reached her.And next time, they would come closer.“Seal the wounded wing,” Aria said calmly. “Move the injured to the lower sanctuary. Lock down the western tunnels.”Her voice did not shake.That frightened everyone more than her anger ever had.Commanders moved quickly, issuing orders, dragging the injured to safety. Wolves prowled the perimeter, teeth bared, senses stretched thin.Luca watched her from a few steps back.He saw the shift.This was not the Aria who had pleaded with the council. Not the woman who had tried to balance mercy and strength.This was someone forged in fire.“You are already planning something,” he said quietly.Aria turned to him. Her eyes were sharp, burning with resolve. “I am done reacting.”Lu

The attack came before dawn.Not loud. Not reckless.Precise.Aria woke with her power screaming inside her chest, a violent pulse that snapped her fully awake. She sat up just as the alarms cut through the compound, sharp and urgent.Luca was already on his feet.“They are inside,” he said.The walls trembled.Not from explosives, but from magic pressing inward, testing defenses, probing for weakness. Aria swung her legs over the bed and stood, power rolling off her in waves she no longer tried to suppress.“They would not risk this unless they were certain,” she said.Luca’s jaw tightened. “Which means someone told them where to strike.”They moved fast through the corridors, guards converging from every direction. Wolves shifted mid run, claws scraping against stone floors as panic sharpened into readiness.The first body lay near the eastern hall.One of Aria’s sentries.His throat had been cut cleanly.No struggle. No warning.Aria stopped cold.“This was not an external breach,”

The city felt different the moment Aria stepped outside the council compound.Not louder. Not quieter.Watchful.People stared from balconies and alleyways, from behind market stalls and tinted windows. News had spread without words. Power always announced itself, and defiance even more so.Luca walked beside her, his hand never leaving the small of her back. Not guiding. Guarding.“You should have let me tear the chamber apart,” he said quietly.Aria exhaled. “That would have given them what they want.”“And what is that?”“A monster they can justify destroying.”They reached the vehicle waiting at the curb. Luca opened the door but did not move to enter. His jaw was tight, his eyes darker than she had ever seen them.“There is something you need to know,” he said.Aria turned fully to him. “You do not look like a man about to share something small.”“I am not,” he replied.They got inside.The car moved before the door fully closed, security detail tense and silent. The city blurred

Morning did not bring relief.It brought consequences.The city woke to whispers of the failed assassination attempt, though no official statement had been released. Rumors traveled faster than truth, curling through corridors and streets alike. Some said Aria had slaughtered the attackers. Others claimed she had lost control entirely.Neither was true.That frightened the council more than either possibility.Aria stood in the council chamber alone.They had not invited Luca.That alone told her everything.“The decision has been made,” the elder said, his voice calm in a way that felt practiced. “Effective immediately, Luca Valen is removed from all strategic proximity to you.”Aria did not react outwardly, but something inside her tightened.“You do not have the authority,” she replied evenly.“We do,” another councilor said. “Under emergency security provisions.”Aria’s gaze swept the room. “This is fear speaking.”“It is survival,” the eastern leader snapped. “Your mercy nearly g

The threat did not come with violence.That was what frightened Aria the most.It arrived quietly, wrapped in normalcy, delivered through routine channels that had existed long before war or power ever touched her life. Luca received the call while standing beside her in the upper hall, his expression shifting so subtly that only someone bonded to him could have noticed.Aria felt it immediately.“What is it?” she asked.Luca ended the call slowly. His jaw was tight, his shoulders rigid. “They intercepted a convoy outside the northern gate.”Her heartbeat stuttered. “Whose?”“Mine,” he replied. “Unmarked. Carrying nothing valuable. Just a message.”Her blood went cold. “Did anyone get hurt?”“No,” he said. “That is the point.”The message arrived minutes later.Not written. Not spoken.A location.A time.A reminder that restraint could be exploited just as easily as rage.“They want me to go,” Luca said quietly. “Alone.”Aria’s hands curled into fists. The room felt smaller, the wall