Todos los capítulos de The Substitute Luna: Capítulo 21 - Capítulo 25

The words on the parchment seemed to darken as Aria stared at them. The heir comes willingly, or the Luna comes to collect what remains. Lyra had not simply taken Cassian. She had arranged the abduction like a choice and expected Aria to destroy herself trying to make the right one.“She wants me to go alone,” Aria said. Her voice sounded strangely steady, even to her own ears. “She wants me frightened enough to follow the trail she leaves without thinking about what she might be waiting for.”Kael folded the parchment with controlled precision, but the muscles in his jaw were tight enough to ache. “Then she will be disappointed. Nobody goes anywhere alone.”“And if she threatens to hurt him unless I come?” Aria asked. “You cannot order me to stay behind while my son is in her hands.”“I would never ask you to do that.” He met her gaze. “But I will not let you walk into a trap without a plan. Cassian needs both of us alive.”It was the right answer, and somehow that made the fear wors

No one moved at first. The laugh drifted down the corridor and disappeared, leaving behind a silence so complete that Aria could hear the blood rushing in her ears. She stepped toward the door, but Kael raised one hand—not to stop her, only to signal the guards to hold position.“It is another echo,” Brenna said, though the tremor in her voice betrayed her. “Lyra is using the house to make us hear what we fear most.”“Then tell us why she has your pendant,” Aria replied.Brenna stared at the silver chain on the table. “Because I made a mistake long before either of you came here.”Kael dismissed the guards and shut the door. “Start at the beginning.”Brenna sat down slowly. For years, she had been the pack’s quiet keeper of old rites, the woman who remembered forgotten names and could explain why certain stones were never to be moved. Aria had trusted her because she had treated Cassian with patience and never looked at him as if his power made him a threat. Now fear had carved lines

The water struck the chamber hard enough to knock Aria against the stone wall.Kael caught her before she fell. Behind them, the passage they had crossed groaned beneath the pressure of the rising tide. Black water spilled over the steps, carrying grey ash and fragments of stone.“Cassian!” Aria shouted.Her voice vanished beneath the roar.“He’s below us,” Brenna said. The black line on her wrist had spread almost to her palm. “Lyra is keeping the passage open through the anchor. If the water reaches the upper chamber, we may lose the way back.”“Then we find the anchor and shut it down,” Kael replied.A growl rolled from the stairwell. Elias raised his blade, and the guards behind him moved to form a line.“Wait,” Brenna warned. “That thing wants us to attack. The old magic feeds on fear and violence. If we charge blindly, we may give it exactly what it needs.”Aria could barely listen. All she could think about was Cassian alone in the dark, frightened and waiting for her. Every in