جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 50

The Guardian Wolf had vanished, but his words still echoed inside my head. If you leave now, you may still reach him before sunset. I didn’t dare think about what would happen if we failed. Tomorrow night. Not the thirtieth day. Tomorrow night. The thought pounded inside my skull with every step I took. Thorne kept pace beside me. His breathing stayed steady despite the difficult climb. Neither of us spoke. There was nothing left to say. Every second we wasted brought Lucian closer to death. The mountain grew steeper the higher we climbed. Loose stones rolled beneath our boots. Sharp cliffs surrounded us on both sides while the wind howled through the narrow pass. Then Thorne suddenly slowed. “Cressida.” I stopped immediately. He was staring at the ground. Fresh hoofprints. My heart leaped. “Shadow.” Thorne nodded. “He passed here recently.” I dropped to one knee. The tracks were sharp, their edges untouched by wind or snow. “He can’t be far.” Hope

Night settled over the mountains far faster than I wanted. One moment there had still been enough light to see the narrow trail winding between the rocks. The next, shadows swallowed everything beyond a few paces. A cold wind swept down from the peaks, carrying the scent of pine and snow. Lucian stumbled again. He would have fallen if Thorne hadn’t caught his arm. “That’s enough,” Thorne said firmly. “We’re stopping.” Lucian tried to pull away, but there wasn’t any strength behind the movement. “We have to keep going.” “No,” Thorne answered. “You’ll collapse before we make another mile.” I watched Lucian’s shoulders rise with a slow, painful breath. Even standing seemed to cost him more than he could afford. At last he gave the smallest nod. Thorne led us toward a shallow cave tucked beneath a rocky overhang. It wasn’t much, but it sheltered us from the wind. He quickly cleared away loose stones while I spread my cloak across the driest patch of ground. Lucian

~Cressida I felt his chest rise beneath my hands. A sharp gasp tore through the silence, stealing the air from my lungs. For one frozen heartbeat, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even think. Lucian’s fingers twitched against the rocky ground. Then his eyes opened. I stared into them and forgot how to breathe. They weren’t the familiar crimson that had haunted my dreams. They weren’t the molten gold of his wolf either. They were silver—pure, luminous silver. They glowed softly beneath the fading light, bright enough to make me wonder if I was imagining them. “Lucian?” My voice came out as little more than a whisper. He blinked once, as though waking from a long sleep. His breathing was uneven but stronger now. Color slowly returned to his face, chasing away the deathly pallor that had terrified me moments before. His gaze searched the dim cave before settling on me. “Cressida.” He sounded confused, as though he didn’t understand why tears streamed down my cheek

Catching the first light of dawn, we stepped out of the cave together. The cold mountain air rushed over my face, carrying the scent of pine, damp stone, and melting snow. For a moment I simply stood there, letting the warmth of the rising sun touch my skin. It felt unreal. Just yesterday I had been begging the Moon Goddess not to take Lucian away from me. Now he was beside me. Alive. He took the first step down the mountain without saying anything. I noticed the slight stiffness in his movements and instinctively reached for his arm. “You don’t have to prove anything,” I said quietly. “We can take it slow.” He looked at my hand where it rested against his sleeve. Weeks ago he would have brushed it away, insisting he could manage on his own. This time he simply nodded. “I know.” The words were simple, but they settled warmly inside my chest. We walked in comfortable silence while Thorne led the way. Something about Lucian had changed beyond the silver in his

I looked into Lucian’s eyes on the balcony. The sounds of celebration floated up from the town below. My heart raced. “Yes,” I whispered. “I will be your Luna.” He gave a short smile then pulled me close. Our kiss started soft but quickly grew hungry. His hands trembled slightly as he held me. I knew he was still healing, yet the fire between us burned too strong to ignore. We barely made it to his chambers. The door clicked shut behind us. Lucian kissed me again, deep and slow. His fingers traced my arms, my waist, like he wanted to memorize every inch of me. “Lucian, wait,” I said softly. “You are still weak. Your body needs rest after everything.” He rested his forehead against mine. “I need you more,” he replied. “I have waited so long for this. For us.” His words melted my worry. I nodded. We undressed each other with gentle hands. Clothes fell to the floor one by one. The moonlight from the window painted our skin silver. He laid me on the bed. His mout