Chapter 16 Sixteen
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Mira POV
The moon temple felt colder after the Queen vanished. Her lingering magic clung to the stone like frost, sharp and suffocating. Jason stood a few steps away from me, breathing heavily, recovering from the spell she had cast on him. His hand was pressed against the pillar for support, but he refused to show weakness. He never did, not even when he should.
I watched him closely. Too closely. My emotions had become a battlefield I had no control over.
His gaze lifted to meet mine. “She wanted to separate us,” he said quietly.
“She failed,” I replied.
His eyes softened slightly. Not with relief. Not with hope. Something deeper. Something I did not want to name.
“We should leave,” I said before he could speak again. “The rebels are waiting.”
He nodded and straightened, even though he was still clearly in pain. I turned away and started walking, but his footsteps followed me instantly. He kept close, always half a step behind, enough to give me space yet close enough that I could feel his presence at my back.
We walked through the forest in silence, but the kiss still clung to the air between us like a secret. My wolf paced inside me, restless, agitated, confused. Jason’s scent lingered on my skin. Warmth still burned where his hands had held me.
I hated that I could not forget it.
By the time we reached the rebel perimeter, Riven was already there, rigid with tension. He scanned me from head to toe.
“You are both alive,” he said, though his tone made it clear he had expected otherwise.
“We handled it,” I said.
Riven’s eyes flicked to Jason. Cold. Distrusting. “What did she do to him?”
Jason answered before I could. “She wanted leverage.”
Riven did not seem satisfied, but he stepped aside to let us pass. The moment we returned to the camp, the rebels surrounded us with questions and worried looks. I raised my hand for silence.
“She knows we are coming,” I said. “But we move anyway. We attack the capital at dawn.”
A ripple of shock moved through the rebels.
“Mira,” Riven said carefully. “You are rushing.”
“No,” I said. “The Queen is preparing something far worse if we wait. She has already set her plan in motion.”
Riven frowned. “And you want to walk straight into her territory.”
“Yes.”
Riven looked at Jason again, suspicion sharpening his expression. “You agree with this?”
Jason did not hesitate. “I follow her lead.”
I shot him a brief look. He did not break eye contact.
His voice carried something steady, resolute, and dangerously sincere. It pulled at something inside me I was not ready to face.
Riven sighed, rubbing his temple. “If you die, we lose everything.”
“I am not dying,” I said firmly. “And neither is he.”
Jason exhaled slowly, almost in relief.
Riven gestured toward the far tents. “There is something else you should see.”
I followed him without a word. Jason stayed a step behind me.
Inside Riven’s tent, a map of the capital lay on the table, marked with guard routes, fences, gates, and hidden passages.
“We have a problem,” Riven said.
“What problem?” I asked.
He pointed to the broken wooden box on the table. “This was dropped outside our boundary. Fresh scent. Not one of ours.”
Jason leaned in. “What is inside?”
Riven pulled out a piece of cloth. Fine silk. Dark red embroidery. My stomach tightened.
“The Queen’s crest,” I said softly.
Riven nodded. “She sent another message.”
I snatched the smaller item from inside the box before anyone else could touch it. A wolf pendant. Crushed and broken.
Jason’s breath hitched. “That belonged to my father.”
The tent fell silent.
Jason stared at the pendant as if someone had reached into his chest and ripped something out.
“She wants me,” he whispered. “She wants me more than she wants the throne.”
I placed the pendant back on the table. “She wants control. And she thinks she can get it through you.”
Jason lifted his head slowly. His eyes were sharp, edged with something colder than anger.
“I am not hers to control,” he said.
“You never were,” I replied quietly.
He looked at me, and the tension between us sharpened.
Riven cleared his throat. “We need to prepare. If the Queen is targeting him directly, the attack will be more dangerous than expected.”
I stepped out of the tent. The night air hit me sharply. Jason followed, stopping beside me.
“Mira,” he said.
“No,” I said. “Not now.”
He was silent for a moment. Then he stepped closer.
“I meant what I said. About being yours.”
My breath caught.
“Jason,” I warned.
He reached out slowly, giving me time to move away. I did not move.
His fingers brushed my chin, lifting my face to his.
“You can push me away a hundred times,” he said quietly. “But I will always choose you.”
My heart pounded painfully. I wanted to deny it. To shut him out. To break the bond before it broke me.
But my voice betrayed me.
“Stop making promises,” I whispered.
“I will not,” he said.
I pulled back abruptly before he could touch me again. “We leave at dawn. Get ready.”
I walked away without looking back, but I felt his eyes following me until I disappeared into the shadows.
Inside my tent, I finally let myself breathe. My hands trembled. My wolf paced inside me, furious and longing at the same time.
Jason’s scent still clung to me. His touch still burned on my skin.
This was not love.
This was not forgiveness.
This was something far more dangerous.
And when dawn arrived, we would walk into the capital together.