Chapter 53 New Challenges
Jolie POV
The first hour of riding wasn't so bad.
I focused on the rhythm of Ryder's bike. The rumble of engines around us. The way the pack moved together it distracted me from the burning in my chest.
The second hour, the pain got worse.
Every bump in the road sent shocks through my body. My arms ached from holding onto Ryder. My head pounded with each heartbeat.
By the third hour, I was barely holding on.
"We need to stop." Ryder's voice cut through the wind and engine noise. He was slowing down.
"I'm fine." I forced the words out.
"You're shaking so hard I can feel it through my jacket." He pulled off the highway onto a rest stop. "We're taking a break."
The pack followed us into the parking lot. Empty except for one semi-truck and a beat-up sedan.
Ryder killed the engine and helped me off the bike. My legs buckled immediately. He caught me before I hit the ground.
"I've got you." He lifted me like I weighed nothing and carried me to a picnic table in the shade.
Doc was already pulling out his medical bag. The others formed a protective circle around us.
"Talk to me." Doc checked my pulse. "What are you feeling?"
"Hot. Cold. Everything hurts." I closed my eyes. "Like the moonfire is trying to claw its way out of my skin."
"Is it?" He examined my arms. "Are you losing control?"
"No." I opened my eyes to look at him. "I'm holding it in. But it wants out."
"That's not good." Doc pulled back, his face grave. "The power needs to be used or it builds up. Like steam in a pressure cooker."
"So what do I do?" My voice cracked. "Use it and burn myself out? Or hold it in and explode?"
"Neither." Ryder crouched beside the table. "We get you to Elena. She'll know how to help."
"We're still two days away." I looked at the mountains in the distance. "I don't know if I can make it."
"You can." Luna appeared with a bottle of water. "Drink this."
I took it gratefully. The cold liquid helped a little. Not much, but enough.
"We should keep moving." Cass checked his watch. "We need to clear Redwood territory before dark."
"She needs rest." Ryder stood up, blocking me from view. "We push her too hard and she won't make it at all."
"If we don't clear Redwood territory, none of us will make it." Mara crossed her arms. "They don't like us camping on their land."
Everyone started talking at once. Arguing about speed versus safety.
I tuned them out. Focused on the burning inside me. The moonfire pulsed with my heartbeat. It wanted to be used.
"Jolie?" A small voice cut through the argument.
I opened my eyes. A little girl stood a few feet away. Maybe six years old. Brown hair in pigtails. Clutching a stuffed rabbit.
"Sweetie, get back here." A woman rushed over. Probably her mother. "I'm so sorry. She wandered off."
"It's okay." I managed a smile. "Hi there."
"You're glowing." The little girl pointed at me. "Like a nightlight."
Her mother went pale. "Emma, that's not polite."
But Emma was right. I looked down at my hands. Silver light flickered beneath my skin. Faint but visible in the shade.
"It's pretty." Emma stepped closer. "Does it hurt?"
"Sometimes." I kept my voice gentle. "But it's also a gift."
"Emma has gifts too." Her mother's voice was tight with fear. "She sees things. Please don't hurt her."
"I would never." The thought horrified me. "Is she"
"Sensitive. That's what the doctors call it." The mother grabbed Emma's hand. "We should go."
But Emma wasn't moving. She stared at me with wide eyes. "The light is sad."
"What?" I blinked.
"Your light." Emma pointed at my chest. "It's sad because you're scared of it."
The words hit me like a punch. This six-year-old could see what I'd been hiding from everyone.
"How do you know that?" I asked softly.
"The light told me." Emma tilted her head. "It wants to help people. But you won't let it."
"Because it's hurting me." The admission came out before I could stop it.
"No." Emma shook her head seriously. "You're hurting it. By keeping it locked up so tight."
Her mother tugged on her hand. "Emma, we need to go now."
"But the glowing lady needs help." Emma pulled against her mother's grip. "The light is dying because she's smothering it."
Ryder stepped forward. His presence made Emma's mother flinch. "What do you mean smothering it?"
"She's trying to make it smaller." Emma looked up at him without fear. "But the light needs room to breathe. I need to move and be free."
Doc's eyes widened. "She's right. You've been suppressing the moonfire. Trying to control it by containing it."
"That's what I'm supposed to do." I looked between them. "Keep it under control."
"Control isn't the same as suffocation." Doc pulled out his notebook. Started writing frantically. "You're treating the power like an enemy instead of part of yourself."
"It is an enemy." My voice rose. "It's killing me."
"No." Emma's voice was patient. Like she was explaining something obvious. "You're killing each other by fighting. You need to be friends."
"I don't know how." The words came out broken. "I don't know how to live with this."
"The light knows." Emma finally let her mother pull her back. "You just have to listen."
They walked away quickly. The mother kept looking over her shoulder like she expected us to chase them.
I stared down at my hands. The silver glow pulsed beneath my skin.
"She's six years old." Mara's voice cut through my thoughts. "And she figured out what none of us could."
"Because she wasn't afraid to look." Luna sat beside me on the table. "We've all been treating your power like a bomb. Even you."
"It feels like a bomb." I closed my fists. "Like I could explode at any moment."
"Because you're holding it in." Doc sat across from me. "Jolie, when you healed that child, how did you feel afterward?"
"Exhausted. Empty. Like something had been ripped out of me." The memory made me wince.
"But during the healing?" He leaned forward. "When the power was flowing?"
I thought back. I remembered the warmth spreading from my hands. The way the moonfire had moved through me. "It felt so natural."
"Exactly." Doc's face lit up. "The power flows naturally when you let it. It's only when you try to contain it that it becomes dangerous."
"So what do I do?" I looked around at all of them. "Just let it loose whenever it wants?"
"No." Ryder moved to stand behind me. His hands settled on my shoulders. "You learn to work with it instead of against it."
"How?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly.
"That's what Elena will teach you." Doc closed his notebook. "But until then, you need to stop fighting yourself."
"I don't know how to do that." My voice broke.
"Start small." Luna took my hand. "Feel the moonfire right now. Don't push it down. Just acknowledge it's there."
I closed my eyes. Let myself feel the burning in my chest. The silver fire pulsing beneath my skin. Every instinct screamed at me to contain it. Instead, I just breathed.
The moonfire flickered then settled. Like a restless animal calming down.
"There." Luna squeezed my hand. "See? It's not fighting you anymore."
She was right. The burning had eased slightly.
"This is insane." I opened my eyes. "A six-year-old just taught me more about my power than anyone else has."
"Kids see things clearly." Knox grinned from his position in the circle. "No baggage getting in the way."
"We should go." Cass was still watching the road. "We've been stopped too long."
"Can you ride?" Ryder asked me quietly.
I tested my legs, I stood up slowly. The world tilted but didn't spin. "Yeah. I can make it."
"Then let's move." He helped me back to his bike. "We've got four more hours until the Redwood border."
I climbed on behind him. This time, I didn't fight the moonfire pulsing inside me. I Just let it be.
And the pain eased a fraction more.
Engines roared to life around us. The pack moved back into formation.
"Better?" Ryder asked through our bond.
"A little." I tightened my arms around him. "Ask me again in four hours."