The Temple grows colder as the sun sinks outside.
There are no windows, but I feel it—
the soft stretch of shifting light,
the way the air tightens,
the way my mark begins to pulse.
Moonrise is coming.
Aiden feels it too.
His fingers stay woven with mine, refusing to let go even for a breath. He keeps glancing at my face like he expects me to vanish if he blinks too slowly.
"Your heartbeat is fast," he murmurs.
"You're holding my hand too tightly," I whisper back.
He loosens his grip instantly.
I laugh softly.
"It's okay, Aiden. I want you to hold me."
He freezes.
That one sentence breaks something inside him.
His hand tightens again—but slower this time, gentler.
He lifts our joined hands and presses a kiss to my knuckles, one by one.
"You have no idea what you do to me," he whispers against my skin.
My cheeks burn.
"And you have no idea how much I need you right now."
His eyes soften—
dark and warm and aching.
He pulls me slowly into his arms, settling me in his lap again, like he's afraid to let any distance grow between us before the trial comes.
My head rests on his shoulder.
His chin presses into my hair.
And for a moment—
just one small moment—
the world feels quiet.
Calm.
"I want to ask you something," Aiden says suddenly, voice low.
"Ask," I whisper.
"During the kiss…"
He clears his throat.
"Your magic reacted."
"Did it hurt you?" I ask quickly.
He looks almost offended.
"No. It felt like… it wanted me closer."
His hand slides to my waist.
"Did it hurt you?"
I shake my head. "No. It felt like it… woke something."
"Woke what?"
"I don't know," I admit. "But it felt like it was pulling your energy into mine."
He tenses.
"And you let it?"
"Yes," I say softly. "I trust you."
His breath stutters.
His arms tighten around me like he wants to fuse our bodies together.
"Say it again," he whispers in my hair.
"I trust you."
He exhales sharply.
"Then I'll keep earning it."
I close my eyes, resting against the warmth of him.
The calm doesn't last long.
The ground vibrates.
The air snaps like a rope pulled too tight.
The fire pit flares silver-blue, burning higher than before.
Aiden shifts instantly, pulling me off his lap and placing me behind him.
"Get back," he orders Kai and Ethan.
"We're literally already against the wall," Kai mutters.
Ethan hides half behind a pillar.
"Why does everything in this Temple glow like it wants to kill someone?"
Aiden growls, "Focus."
I step beside him.
"Don't move from behind me," he warns.
"I'm not hiding," I whisper.
"You WILL if I tell you to."
"Aiden—"
He turns, grabs my chin gently, and kisses my forehead fiercely.
"Please," he whispers.
"Let me protect you at least for the first trial."
I swallow.
"Okay."
His shoulders relax just a fraction.
Only a fraction.
Because the room is changing.
The walls split—cracks running up the stone.
Silver light pours out from them.
The flame rises higher.
The ceiling shifts, turning from stone to open sky—
dark, shimmering sky with a single massive moon hanging overhead.
Even though we're underground.
Kai looks up and squeaks, "WHAT—WHY IS THERE A SKY ON THE CEILING—???"
Ethan stares wide-eyed.
"I'm gonna vomit."
The voice returns.
"Shadow Heir."
My blood goes cold.
"Your first trial begins."
A circle of light forms around me—
one I can't step out of.
Aiden snarls and tries to follow—
but hits an invisible barrier.
"NO!"
He slams his fists against it.
"Aiden—"
"Open it!" he roars at the Temple. "LET ME IN!"
The voice ignores him.
"Trial One: The Reflection."
A mirror rises from the floor.
Ancient, cracked, silver-framed.
I stare.
It shows…
Me.
But not me.
My reflection steps out of the mirror.
Living.
Breathing.
Glowing gold in the veins.
Her eyes—my eyes—
burn white.
She smiles, slow and terrifying.
Kai screams like a toddler.
Ethan faints for a second then wakes himself up.
Aiden's eyes go silver-white as he slams his body against the barrier again.
"LIYANA, BACK UP!"
My reflection tilts her head.
"You hide behind wolves."
I feel the words inside my bones.
"You suppress your power to please them.
To remain small.
To remain acceptable."
Her voice is a perfect mimic of mine.
Colder.
Sharper.
Cruel.
"You cannot become what you are meant to be while chained to his heart."
Aiden roars.
"DON'T LISTEN TO IT!"
My reflection's smile widens.
"He is the weakness that will destroy you."
I step back.
Her steps mirror mine.
"You cannot choose both worlds."
Her hands glow with gold fire.
"You cannot be Moon and Shadow."
My throat tightens.
"You cannot love a wolf and serve a king."
Her eyes lock on Aiden.
"And you cannot be his mate and my father's heir."
Aiden hurls himself at the barrier again.
The entire Temple shakes.
"LIYANA, GET AWAY FROM IT!"
But I can't.
I'm locked in the circle.
I'm locked in the trial.
My reflection raises her hand—
and golden fire swirls in her palm.
"You are incomplete," she whispers.
"Broken."
"Confused."
"Afraid."
I breathe out, trembling.
She steps closer.
"You must destroy what you fear most."
Her fingers lift—
glowing bright—
The fire pulses.
She aims the burning orb at me.
I brace myself.
But the fire doesn't hit me.
It slams into the ground at my feet—
splitting the stone.
Something rises from the cracked floor.
Slowly.
Heavy.
My heart stops.
A shape forms from the stone—
a monstrous silhouette with glowing white eyes
and dark, rotted wings.
A creature made from my nightmares.
A creature made from my fear.
Kai screams,
"I THOUGHT THIS WAS A TEMPLE, NOT A HORROR MOVIE—!"
Ethan hides again.
"I wanna go home."
My reflection whispers:
"Face what you fear…
or be consumed by it."
The creature roars—
the sound shaking the entire chamber
as it charges at me in full force.
Aiden screams my name—
"LIYANAAAAA!"
But the barrier doesn't break.
And the creature leaps—
teeth bared
claws extended
moonlight twisting around its body—
Right at me.