35

Aria’s heartbeat pounded in her ears as she ran. The air was thick with the scent of blood, smoke, and something darker—something unnatural. Every breath burned her lungs, every step was a fight against the exhaustion creeping into her limbs.

Behind her, chaos reigned.

The Shadow Order’s fortress was alive with alarms, floodlights cutting through the night, soldiers flooding into the courtyard like a swarm of angry hornets. The moment they had set foot inside, everything had gone to hell.

They had underestimated Selene.

And now they were paying the price.

“Move!” Sebastian barked, his voice sharp over the sound of gunfire and growls.

Aria didn’t need to be told twice.

She pushed forward, weaving between the bodies, dodging strikes and lunging past soldiers who barely had time to react before she slit their throats. Blood sprayed across her stolen uniform, but she didn’t stop.

There was no stopping.

Not now.

Lucian was ahead, clearing a path through the Shadow Order’s forces with brutal efficiency. He moved like a storm, his silver eyes glowing in the dark, his blades flashing. Untouchable.

Dante and Kai covered the rear, taking down anyone who got too close.

Cassian’s wolves followed, some injured, some barely holding themselves upright, but still fighting.

They had come here to strike first.

Instead, they were running for their lives.

And Selene was nowhere to be seen.

That alone made Aria’s blood run cold.

She had felt Selene’s power—had been held in place by it, had been suffocated by the sheer weight of it.

And then, in the middle of the battle, she had vanished.

It wasn’t a retreat.

Selene didn’t retreat.

It was something else.

Something worse.

Aria’s chest tightened. She could feel it—a presence watching.

Waiting.

But from where?

A sharp whistle cut through the air.

Lucian turned, his silver eyes locking onto Aria’s. “Now!”

They reached the outer walls.

The only way out.

Cassian had warned them before the mission—Selene’s stronghold was built into the cliffs, fortified with layers of walls, snipers, and guards.

The only exit was through the ravine.

Aria skidded to a stop at the edge of the precipice. Below, the jagged river snaked through the valley, its dark waters reflecting the moonlight.

The drop was at least a hundred feet.

Dante groaned. “Not this again.”

Kai grinned, already backing up for a running start. “We lived last time.”

Sebastian didn’t hesitate. “Jump.”

One by one, they leaped.

Aria took a breath—then followed.

The wind rushed past her, cold and biting, and for a brief moment, there was nothing but the sensation of falling.

Then—impact.

The river swallowed her whole.

Cold.

Dark.

Silence.

For a moment, Aria didn’t move, letting the water pull her downward. The world above was muffled, distant. The weight of everything—the fight, the betrayal, the truth about what she was—pressed against her chest.

Then hands grabbed her, pulling her up.

She broke the surface, gasping for air.

Dante was beside her, his wet hair slicked back, his blue eyes sharp even in the darkness. “Come on,” he muttered. “We’re not dead yet.”

Aria swam to the riverbank, dragging herself onto the rocky shore. The others followed, water streaming from their bodies, their breaths harsh and ragged.

For a moment, no one spoke.

The fortress loomed in the distance, its towers glowing like a beacon of war.

They had made it out.

But the battle was far from over.

Lucian sat back against a rock, his silver eyes narrowed. “She let us go.”

Aria looked at him sharply. “What?”

Lucian exhaled, running a hand through his wet hair. “Selene. She could have stopped us. She didn’t.”

Sebastian’s jaw clenched. “Then what the hell was the point of all this?”

Lucian’s gaze flicked to Aria.

She froze.

Because she already knew.

Selene hadn’t needed to kill them.

She had wanted to see what Aria was capable of.

The memory of the power that had surged through her in the courtyard flashed through her mind. The way Selene had looked at her—like she was something to be studied.

Not an enemy.

A prize.

Aria’s hands trembled.

Kai sat beside her, breathing hard. “So what now?”

Cassian squeezed the water from his shirt. “Now we figure out what the hell just happened.”

Lucian’s voice was quiet. “We already know.”

Aria closed her eyes.

She wasn’t just being hunted.

She was being tested.

The Shadow Order wasn’t done with her.

They had only just begun.

They traveled through the night, putting as much distance between themselves and the fortress as possible.

By dawn, they reached a safehouse hidden deep within the valley—a forgotten outpost from an old war, its stone walls covered in moss, its entrance barely visible beneath the thick vines.

Inside, the air was stale but safe.

Aria sank onto a wooden bench, exhaustion weighing down on her.

Sebastian leaned against the door, arms crossed. “We need answers. Now.”

Lucian nodded. “Agreed.”

Aria exhaled. “Selene… she wasn’t trying to kill us.”

Kai scoffed. “Could’ve fooled me.”

Aria shook her head. “She was testing me.”

Silence.

Then—Sebastian’s expression darkened.

Lucian nodded. “She wanted to see how far your power would go.”

Dante frowned. “And?”

Aria swallowed hard. “And I don’t think we’ve seen the worst of it.”

Sebastian’s green eyes locked onto hers. “So what does she want?”

Aria’s pulse pounded.

Selene had said it herself—

"This power inside you? It isn’t meant for you to control."

The words echoed in her skull, twisting like a knife.

“I don’t know,” Aria admitted.

And that was the truth.

She had spent her entire life trying to figure out what she was.

Now, for the first time…

She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

Kai exhaled. “Great. So we’ve got a psycho ex-Shadow Order assassin who wants to play mind games, an army hunting us, and Aria might be some kind of ticking time bomb.”

Dante snorted. “Sounds about right.”

Cassian smirked. “I love a challenge.”

Sebastian, however, was not amused.

His gaze was locked onto Aria, his expression unreadable. “If we don’t figure this out,” he said quietly, “Selene won’t need to kill you.”

Aria frowned. “What do you mean?”

Sebastian’s voice was deadly.

“She’ll make you one of them.”

The words hit like a punch to the gut.

Aria froze.

Because deep down, a part of her had already wondered—

What if Selene was right?

What if this power wasn’t hers to control?

What if she was already becoming something else?

Something she couldn’t stop.

Lucian’s silver eyes flickered with something dark. “That’s why we have to kill her first.”

Aria exhaled sharply.

Her entire life, she had been hunted. Chased. Controlled.

But not anymore.

Selene had made one mistake.

She had let Aria live.

And now?

Aria was going to end this.

One way or another.