Se connecterNaya’s POVThe second the word left his mouth…“What…?”…I felt something inside me harden.Not crack.Not weaken.Harden.Because if I didn’t stand firm now, if I let even a sliver of doubt creep in, I knew I would fall right back into him… into us… into the same bond that suddenly felt like a curse wrapped in something that once felt like home.So I didn’t hesitate.“I, Naya Rowenfall,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm clawing at my chest, “refuse to be your mate and Luna.”The room went still.Even the air seemed to hold its breath.“You will reject me.”The words landed heavy, final… like a blade driven deep with no intention of pulling it back out.“Never.”Zane didn’t even let me finish processing my own declaration before his voice cut through, sharp and immediate.“I will not reject you, Naya,” he said, stepping closer, his expression shifting from shock to something more desperate. “I love you.”A bitter scoff slipped past my lips before I could stop it.“Love?”The
Zane’s POVThe moment I stepped outside, the door hadn’t even fully closed behind me before my hand shot out, gripping Nikolas by the collar and slamming him hard against the wall.The impact echoed down the corridor.“What the fuck was that?” I snapped, my voice low but laced with something far more dangerous than volume. “Since when do you defend Louise Thornton?”Nikolas didn’t react the way I expected.No anger.No struggle.He just looked at me… his gaze steady and composed, like he had already anticipated this.“Zane,” he said calmly, “you need to start thinking before you act.”That only made it worse.My grip tightened, bunching his shirt beneath my fist as I leaned in closer.“What the hell does that mean?”“It means,” he replied evenly, “you don’t get to keep seeing enemies where there aren’t any.”A bitter scoff tore out of me.“Really? I’m the problem now?” I let go of him only to shove him back again. “You want to stand there and tell me Louise isn’t a problem? After ever
Naya’s POVThe way Zane stormed out didn’t need explanation.It was written all over him the rigid set of his shoulders, the sharpness in his voice, the way the door slammed harder than necessary. He was angry.Typical Zane.When things didn’t go his way, when he couldn’t control the situation, when something slipped out of his grip… anger was always his first response. It used to intimidate me once. Now, sitting here with everything I had seen, everything I had remembered, it only made something inside me tighten in a different way.Because this wasn’t just about him anymore.This mess… this feud, this hatred, this tangled history… it didn’t start today. But somehow, it had all circled back to me.And I was going to end it.The door clicked shut, sealing the room in a quiet that felt heavier than before. I let out a slow breath, then turned my attention to the one person Zane hated seeing near me.Louise.For a moment, neither of us spoke.But what caught me off guard wasn’t his pres
Zane’s POVThe door creaked.It was a small sound… barely noticeable under normal circumstances but in the silence that had wrapped itself around the room, it cut through sharply enough to pull my attention instantly.For a brief second, something in my chest eased.Winnie.It had to be her. I’d sent her to get a few things Naya might need anything to make her more comfortable when she woke up. The thought of her waking in a cold, unfamiliar hospital room without anything of her own didn’t sit right with me.So I looked up.Expecting relief.Expecting familiarity.Instead…My jaw tightened.Every bit of ease I’d felt vanished so quickly it almost felt like it had never been there.Louise.Ruby.And behind them… Nikolas.A slow, dangerous anger settled deep in my chest as I pushed myself up from the chair beside Naya’s bed, my gaze locking directly onto Louise.“What the fuck are you doing here?”There was no attempt to soften it. No restraint.Just pure irritation… sharp and unfiltere
Naya’s POV“They are coming, Naya! You need to go…!”The urgency in her voice sliced through the fog in my head, sharp and commanding, but before I could even form a response…before I could ask who or how… her figure broke apart right in front of me.Not fading nor vanishing.It was breaking like ash caught in a violent wind, her body scattered into tiny fragments of light and disappeared into nothing.I stood there, frozen.The silence she left behind was louder than her warning.My chest rose and fell unevenly as I turned slowly, my eyes scanning the room, searching for another exit, an escape route, anything… but there was nothing.Just the door in front of me.My fingers curled slightly as I swallowed hard, forcing my feet to move despite the weight pressing down on my body. Every step felt heavier than the last, like something unseen was trying to hold me back.But I didn’t let it stop me.My hand reached for the handle.For a second, I hesitated.Then I pulled it open and walked
Zane’s POV“What do you need…?”The question came out lower than I intended, rough at the edges, like something inside me had already started giving in before I even finished asking it.For a moment, no one spoke.Then the woman stepped forward, her presence steady, almost unnervingly calm in contrast to the storm clawing through my chest.“We need to be in her room,” she said. “I’ll channel the energy from her belongings… and find her.”Her words should have brought relief.Instead, doubt followed immediately.I glanced at Louise, then at Ruby, searching their faces for something.., maybe certainty.. but found nothing I could hold on to. Just tension. Just waiting.My gaze returned to the woman.“You’re sure you can find her?” I asked, my voice tightening despite myself.She didn’t hesitate.“The goddess sent me here for a reason,” she replied quietly. “I believe that reason is to find her.”Something about the way she said it… like it wasn’t a guess, like it wasn’t hope, but fact..
Zane’s POVI tightened the lace of my boot with more force than necessary.The leather strained under my fingers, but it wasn’t the boot I was fighting.It was the audacity.High Priest Frostveil thought he could walk into my territory and blackmail my elders into bending the law for his daughter.
Naya’s POVLight filtered into my eyes through my eyelids causing me to stir.Rays of sunlight spread softly across my face, dragging me out of sleep.For a moment, I felt this softness in my chest, like something had been lifted from my chestI turned my head slightly.And there she was, Winnie… s
Naya’s POV The steam from my shower still lingered in the room when I stepped out, wrapping a towel tightly around my body. My hair dripped down my back in dark strands, water trailing slowly over my shoulders. For a moment, everything felt calm. Quiet. Like maybe I could pretend the duel wasn’
Zane’s POV Valkyra looked pleased with herself. That smug, satisfied curve of her lips as the chamber buzzed around her made something dark coil in my chest. She thought she had already won. I didn’t bother addressing her. Not now. Not when Naya had just volunteered herself for slaughter. Wi







