The throne beneath my feet glows—
but only faintly.
Just enough for the Shadow King to smile.
Just enough for my heart to almost stop beating.
Just enough for Aiden's distant voice to break inside my mind:
"Liyana… please—come back—"
The sound nearly brings me to my knees.
The Shadow King spreads his arms, shadow swirling at his feet like liquid night.
"You have chosen."
"No," I whisper.
"Not yet."
His eyes narrow.
"Then why do you stand before that throne?"
I swallow hard.
Because of Aiden.
Because of his life.
Because choosing wrong means losing him.
Because I'm terrified.
I lift my chin anyway.
"Because I needed to see how far you'd go," I whisper.
The Shadow King tilts his head, watching me like a predator studying prey that suddenly learned to bite.
"And now?" he asks softly.
"Now…"
I take a slow breath.
"I know."
The moon throne behind me glows faint silver—
waiting, soft, hopeful.
Quiet.
The shadow throne roars with dark power—
demanding, burning, hungry.
The Shadow King extends his hand again.
"Choose shadow.
Save your mate."
My heart cracks open.
Aiden.
My wolf.
My stubborn, protective, reckless Alpha.
His voice trembles through the thinning bond:
"Liyana… don't choose him.
Please."
He sounds broken.
No…
No, I can't let him sound like that.
I can't let him go through this alone.
I whisper back through the bond:
"Aiden, I'm here."
His breath shatters on the other side.
"Come back to me. Please. Come back."
Tears spill down my cheeks.
The Shadow King watches me like a god deciding the world's fate.
Time slows.
My heart beats once—
Twice—
And I move.
Not toward the shadow throne.
Not toward the moon throne.
But—
I step between them.
Dead center.
Directly on the line dividing two destinies.
The light erupts under my feet.
The entire throne room cracks.
The Shadow King's eyes widen for the first time.
"What are you doing?"
I raise my shaking hands.
"My mother hid me from you."
My voice grows stronger.
"Your blood tries to claim me."
I stare at both thrones.
"The Moon calls me."
I press my palm to my chest.
"But none of you get to decide who I am."
Shadow flares along one arm.
Moonfire glows along the other.
The mark on my palm splits open into two symbols—
one silver,
one black,
glowing together in perfect opposition.
I stand tall.
"I choose BOTH."
The room explodes.
Shadow and Moonfire crash into each other, swirling around me like twin storms. The thrones shake violently.
The Shadow King roars:
"YOU CANNOT HAVE BOTH!"
"Watch me."
He slams his hand toward me—
shadow tendrils lashing out to drag me to the black throne.
I raise my arm.
Moonfire erupts.
Silver flame slashes through the tendrils like cutting smoke with light.
On the other side, silver threads from the moon throne rise, trying to pull me toward purity.
I snap my other hand toward them—
Shadowfire bursts from my fingers, severing the threads like burning silk.
The Moon tries to claim me.
The Shadow tries to devour me.
I let neither win.
My voice shakes the room:
"I AM NOT HALF."
The magic grows brighter.
"I AM NOT BROKEN."
Air trembles violently.
"I AM NOT YOURS—"
I stare straight into the Shadow King's eyes.
"And I am NOT the Moon's pawn!"
All the light in the room surges inward—
crashing into my body like a tidal wave.
Silver.
Gold.
Black.
White.
All merging.
All mine.
The floor cracks beneath me, lines of energy bursting outward in a spiderweb pattern. The thrones flicker violently, unable to handle the merging power.
The Shadow King steps back, eyes burning with shock and fury.
"This is impossible."
"No," I whisper.
"This is ME."
I slam my palm onto the glowing line between the thrones.
The entire world ignites.
Outside the Trial Room
Aiden throws himself against the door so hard blood smears the stone.
"LET ME IN!"
His voice shreds.
"LIYANAAAA!"
Kai tries to pull him back.
Ethan tries to reason with him.
They both fail.
Aiden shifts partially—
eyes glowing, claws digging into the stone as he tries to rip the door open with pure force.
But the bond—
It flickers.
Weakens.
Frays.
Aiden collapses to his knees.
His voice cracks.
"Liyana…"
He clutches his chest.
The bond feels like it's dissolving.
"No. No—NO—"
He slams his fist against the door.
"DON'T LEAVE ME!"
Back in the Throne Room
The light begins to dim.
I stand at the center, panting, drenched in sweat and magic.
My hair floats around me like a storm cloud.
Shadow threads ripple along my veins.
Moonfire glows under my skin like molten silver.
The Shadow King stares at me with something between awe and rage.
"You cannot contain both powers.
Your body will break."
"Maybe."
I lift my chin.
"But it'll be MY choice."
His eyes narrow.
"You think your wolf will accept this?"
I don't hesitate.
"He already did."
A pulse hits the bond—
painful, scared, desperate.
Aiden.
I turn toward the sealed door.
"I'm going back to him."
The Shadow King appears in front of me instantly, blocking my path.
"You cannot leave until you choose a throne."
"I DID choose," I growl.
"No."
His voice is steel now.
"You chose rebellion."
"I chose myself."
"You chose death."
I freeze.
"What?"
He steps closer.
"No being can hold two opposing divine powers for long.
Your mortal body will tear itself apart."
My heart skips.
"You're lying."
"If I wanted to lie," he says softly,
"you'd be sitting on my throne already."
My knees weaken.
He continues:
"You were meant to choose one.
Moon or Shadow."
"But I'm both…"
"And therefore neither."
His voice grows cold.
"You are unstable.
Uncontrolled.
A threat to both realms."
I shake my head.
"No…"
He tilts my chin up with one cold finger.
"Your wolf will watch you die.
Slowly."
My entire body trembles.
"No…"
"And when you break,"
his voice drops to a whisper,
"I will claim what is left."
"I'll NEVER be yours!"
He steps back, shadows coiling around him.
"Then run back to your wolf…
and watch him fall apart first."
My blood goes ice-cold.
"What did you do—?"
"The bond is weakening," he says simply.
"Because YOU are weakening."
I gasp.
Inside my chest—
the bond pulses again.
Faint.
Unsteady.
Weak.
Aiden.
He's feeling this.
He's… dying from this.
I turn, sprinting toward the sealed door.
"LET ME OUT!"
The Shadow King raises a hand.
The door opens—
but not because of me.
Because he LET it open.
"Go," he whispers.
"Run to him."
I stumble through the doorway, gasping—
And fall straight into Aiden's arms.
He catches me instantly—
but then staggers like he's been stabbed, clutching his heart.
"Liyana—"
His voice cracks with pain.
"What happened? What—why do you feel—"
He grips me like I'm slipping from his hands.
I bury my face in his chest, sobbing.
"I'm here—Aiden, I'm here—"
Kai and Ethan stare in shock.
Aiden pulls my face up with shaking hands.
"What did he do to you?"
I swallow.
"He didn't do anything."
Aiden stiffens.
"Then why—why does it hurt—why is the bond—"
I close my eyes.
"I chose both."
He freezes.
"…both?"
"Moonfire and Shadow."
My voice breaks.
"Together. Inside me."
Aiden's hands tremble violently against my face.
"That's impossible," he whispers.
"Yes."
His breath shakes.
"And dangerous."
"Yes."
His eyes fill with fear.
"For YOU."
I shake my head.
"For YOU too."
The bond pulses—
faint
weak
scared.
Aiden pulls me against him so hard it knocks the air from my lungs.
"Don't die."
His voice is barely a whisper.
"Please, Liyana. Please don't die."
I clutch his shirt.
"I'll survive. I promise."
But the Shadow King's final whisper echoes in my ear—
"She will break."
And the chapter ends as:
Aiden feels the bond falter again—
and his knees buckle
while holding me.