Chapter 67 Name
ARYA
My eyes softened hearing the worry in his voice. “Because I’m the Moonborne heir. It’s literally my job description.”
“Your job description needs updating. Add ‘drive mate insane with worry’ to the list.” he playfully growls, burning his face in the crook of my neck and inhaling my scent.
Sage laughed. “I like you two. You’re weird, but in a good way.”
“We’re bonded mates facing an apocalyptic summit while fighting dark magic and a coalition of extremists,” I said dryly. “Weird is relative.”
“Fair point.” She raised her glass. “To weird. May it keep us alive.”
“To weird,” we all echoed.
The dinner continued with conversation shifting easily to strategy and preparation. But underneath it all, I felt the weight of what was coming.
Three days to prepare for something that could kill me. I’d face my family’s darkest legacy. I had three days to make sure I was strong enough to survive.
It was no surprise I couldn't sleep that night.
Luca held me close, his breathing eventually evening out, but my mind wouldn’t quiet. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw dark cloud and smoke swirling, and heard whispers promising power and death in equal measure.
‘Lean?’ I called to my wolf.
‘I’m here,’ she responded immediately. ‘And I’m scared.’
‘Me too.’
‘But we can do this. We’re Moonborne. We were born for this.’
‘What if I’m not strong enough? What if I fail and everyone dies because of me?’
‘Then we’ll fail together. But Arya—I don’t think we will.’ Lean’s presence was warm and comforting. ‘You’re stronger than you know. Stronger than Jaime ever let you be. Stronger than fear.’
‘I hope you’re right.’
‘I’m always right. I’m a wolf.’
I smiled at her confidence despite the fear burrowing itself deep into my soul.
Luca stirred beside me, his arm tightening. “Can’t sleep?” His voice was rough with exhaustion.
“Too much in my head.”
He rolled to face me, golden eyes glowing slightly in the darkness. “Want to talk about it?”
“What if I can’t do it? What if I’m not strong enough?”
“Then we’ll find another way. We always do.” His hand cupped my face. “But Aeliana, I’ve seen your power. I’ve felt it. You’re more than capable.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you’re still here. After everything Jaime put you through, after having your wolf suppressed for twenty-three years, after discovering your entire family was murdered and you’re the last of your line.” His hold tightened, voice becoming deeper when he continued. “You’re still here fighting. Still believing in a better world.” He kissed me softly. “That’s not a weakness. That’s incredible strength.”
“You have a lot of faith in me.”
“I have the appropriate amount of faith. Which is infinite.” His thumb brushed my lower lip. “You’re going to succeed. You’re going to cleanse that land, host that summit, and change the world. And I’m going to be beside you the entire time, insufferably worried and probably making a nuisance of myself.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Good. Because you’re stuck with me.” He pulled me closer, my back to his chest, his arm wrapped around my waist. “Now sleep. We have training tomorrow and Sage is going to be brutal.”
“She’s always brutal.”
“I know. I’m considering having her exiled.” He mumbled. He was only half joking, I knew that much.
“You will not.”
“Fine. But I’m going to glare at her a lot.”
“That’s acceptable.”
His hand splayed across my stomach, warm and possessive. “Sleep, little wolf. I’ve got you.”
With his heartbeat steady against my back and his love pouring through our bond, I finally drifted off.
Tomorrow would bring more training, more preparation, more fear. But tonight, I was safe in his arms and that was enough.
\-----
It felt like I'd blinked once and three days passed. So many things happened but I couldn’t even quantify them. From mornings that were spent with Bardon, learning to shield my mind, to recognize and resist dark magic’s influence. He had me meditate for hours, building mental walls brick by brick.
“The dark magic will look for cracks,” he explained again. “Those little doubts, fears and regrets we don’t even let ourselves think about. That’s why you need to acknowledge them but not let them control you.”
“How do I do that?”
“By accepting them as part of who you are. You’re not perfect, Arya. You’ve made mistakes, felt inadequate, experienced trauma. The dark magic will try to use those things against you. But if you accept them as part of your journey rather than weaknesses to be hidden—” He smiled. “—then they become strengths.”
Afternoons were filled with brutal combat training with Sage. She didn’t hold back, pushing me until I was bleeding and exhausted then she would push me some more.
“Again!” she’d bark when I’d fall. “The dark magic won’t give you a break. Neither will I.”
By the third day, I was moving faster, hitting harder, and anticipating her strikes before she made them. Lean and I were learning to work as one seamless unit.
“Better,” Sage admitted after I finally managed to pin her. “You might actually survive this.”
“High praise.” I chuckled, breathing hard.
“From me? Extremely high.” She helped me up. “You’ve got potential, Luna. Real potential. Don’t waste it by getting yourself killed.”
“I’ll try not to.”
I spent my evenings with Luca. He’d heal my injuries, hold me while I decompressed, and then we’d practice channeling combined power through our bond.
“Feel my energy,” he’d murmur, his hands on my shoulders. “Let it flow into you, amplify your own power.”
When we connected, when our powers merged, it was like touching the sun. Raw, overwhelming, infinite.
“That’s what you’ll have access to during the ritual,” he explained. “My strength, my power, everything I am—it’s yours.”
“That’s terrifying.”
“That’s love.”
I couldn’t tell who always makes the first move, me or him, or both of us at once but our clothes will be off soon after that. We made love like people preparing for war, each touch loaded with unspoken fear, yearning and longing.
“I will not lose you,” he growled against my skin one night, his body claiming mine over and over. “I’ve waited eight hundred years. I’m not giving you up after mere weeks.”
“Then make sure you keep me alive.”
“Oh, I plan to. Even if I have to defy death itself.”
The night before the cleansing ritual, I stood on the terrace staring at the full moon, thinking of what the next day would be like.
I’ll face my family’s darkness. I would either prove myself worthy of the Moonborne name or die trying.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Ryker’s voice came from behind me.