The black-and-gold door pulses like a living heart.
Every beat shakes the chamber.
Every beat sends a cold shiver crawling up my spine.
Aiden's grip on my hand tightens until I feel the tremble in his fingers.
Not fear.
Rage.
"Aiden—" I whisper.
"No."
His voice is raw, vibrating with barely contained fury.
"You're not walking through that door alone."
"It's my final trial."
"I don't care."
I swallow.
"The Temple does."
He steps in front of me, shielding me with his body.
"I don't follow rules that try to take you away."
My heart aches.
"Aiden—"
He spins toward the door, jaw clenched so tight I can see the muscle twitch.
"Open it," he snarls at the Temple. "OPEN IT FOR ME."
Nothing happens.
The door remains sealed, glowing faintly.
Kai whispers behind us, "This looks… not ideal."
Ethan nods. "You don't say."
Aiden ignores them completely.
He presses his palm to the black stone.
It burns him instantly.
Smoke rises from his skin.
I gasp, grabbing his wrist. "Aiden! Stop!"
He doesn't.
He presses harder.
"I am NOT letting her face this alone!"
"Aiden—let go!"
"NO!"
His hand sizzles.
His skin reddens.
The burn creeps up his arm.
I wrap my hands around his and yank it away.
He snarls in pain, fangs half-shifting.
"You idiot!" I hiss, tears stinging my eyes. "You can't protect me if you destroy yourself!"
His breathing shakes—
anger
fear
love
all tangled inside him.
"Then tell it to open for BOTH of us," he throws at me.
"It won't."
"I'll break it."
"No, you won't."
His eyes snap to me.
"Watch me."
I grab his face with both hands, forcing him to look at me.
"Aiden," I whisper, voice trembling.
"If I die in there—"
He snarls, "Don't say that."
"You have to listen—"
"I WON'T LOSE YOU!"
The roar is so loud it shakes dust from the ceiling.
Kai flinches. Ethan hides behind him.
Aiden's chest heaves.
His wolf is too close—
too desperate—
too wild.
I cup his jaw gently.
"Look at me."
He does.
"You won't lose me."
He closes his eyes like the words hurt him.
When he opens them—
they're softer.
Breaking.
Devoted.
"Then let me in," he whispers.
"I can't."
His breath catches.
He lowers his head until his forehead rests on mine.
"Then I'll stand here until dawn becomes dust," he murmurs.
"No force on earth will move me."
I slide my hands down to his.
"You don't get it," I whisper.
He lifts his head slightly.
"What don't I get?"
"That if you enter, the bond might kill you."
His breath stops.
"What?"
"The Temple said—only the Shadow King's heir may enter. If someone else forces their way in…the bond breaks."
Aiden stiffens.
Kai yelps. "Break?!"
Ethan whispers, "Oh we're dead."
Aiden's voice drops to a whisper.
"If the bond breaks…"
"I die," I whisper.
He goes pale.
Dead pale.
"Aiden… if you break the rules, you'll kill me faster than the trial will."
The burn marks on his hand crack.
His fingers twitch.
He steps back from the door like it's a venomous snake.
"No," he whispers.
"No, no, no—"
He grabs me again, burying his face in my hair.
"Liyana… I didn't know…"
"I know," I whisper.
"I didn't—"
His voice cracks.
"I didn't mean—"
"I know."
He shakes against me, wolf limping inside him, terrified.
"Then how do I protect you?" he whispers.
"Tell me. Please. Tell me how."
"You stand right here," I whisper, cupping his cheek.
"And you wait for me."
His fingers curl at my waist.
"That's the hardest thing you could ask me to do."
"I know."
He swallows hard, leaning his forehead to mine again.
"You come back," he whispers fiercely.
"You hear me? You come back to me."
My throat burns.
"I will," I whisper.
His hand goes to the back of my neck, pulling me closer—
But before his lips can touch mine—
The Temple roars.
The door rips open in a burst of black-and-gold light.
Aiden shoves me behind him on instinct.
"Back!" he growls. "Get back!"
But the light doesn't attack.
It waits.
For me.
A whisper rises from the doorway, cold as frost, soft as silk.
"Daughter."
My blood freezes.
He's here.
Not physically.
But his presence is undeniable.
The Shadow King's voice seeps through the cracks of reality, curling into the chamber like smoke.
"Come to me."
Aiden roars, "STAY AWAY FROM HER!"
The voice laughs—
dark
velvet
deadly.
"You cannot stop what she is."
Aiden's hands shake with fury.
"I don't care what she is," he snarls.
"She's mine."
The air tears open beside the door—
a swirl of shadows.
A silhouette steps halfway through.
Tall.
Sharp.
Crowned in darkness.
The Shadow King himself.
Not a vision.
Not a whisper.
A half-formed projection of him inside the Temple.
Aiden throws me behind him again.
"Oh good," Kai mutters. "He's tall. Great."
Ethan whispers, "We're dead. We're actually dead."
Aiden stands like a wall before me, chest rising and falling violently.
"Get. Out."
The Shadow King chuckles.
"Or what? You will bare your throat and beg her not to die?"
Aiden's fangs slide out.
He's seconds from shifting fully.
I step forward.
Aiden blocks me.
"Liyana—NO!"
"I have to."
"No you don't—"
I place a hand on his back.
"I'm not going to him. I'm facing him."
He shakes.
"Liyana…"
I slide around him and stand in front of the Shadow King.
His eyes—white, empty, ancient—fix on me.
"You have grown."
"Don't talk to me like you know me."
"I created you."
"No. You didn't."
His smile is cold.
"Then why does your magic answer mine?"
My veins flicker with shadow threads.
My heart slams painfully.
Aiden senses the shift, grabbing my arm.
"No. Liyana, step back—step away—"
But I can't.
I stare at the Shadow King.
"I'm not going with you."
"You must."
"No."
"You carry my power."
"It's not yours anymore."
His eyes narrow.
"You integrated your reflection."
My breath catches.
How does he know that?
"You embraced shadow willingly."
Aiden snarls. "She embraced HERSELF!"
The Shadow King ignores him.
"Come, child.
In the final trial…
you will choose your throne."
Aiden freezes.
"What throne?" he demands.
The shadow king's eyes glow brighter.
"The throne she was born to claim."
"What are you talking about?" I whisper.
His voice drops low. Deep.
"You are not heir to one kingdom."
The chamber stills.
"You are heir to TWO."
Aiden steps between us again.
"What does that mean?!"
The Shadow King lifts a hand—
And the Temple doors slam shut behind me, sealing me away from Aiden.
"LIYANA!"
His voice tears into the walls.
"NO—OPEN IT! OPEN THE DOOR!"
I press my palm to the sealed barrier.
"AIDEN!"
But I can't feel him.
The bond stretches—
pulls—
frays—
The Shadow King whispers behind me:
"Welcome to the final trial, daughter."
The ground cracks beneath my feet—
And I fall into darkness.