Chapter 168 AURORA

The air outside was thick, as if the forest were holding its breath. I stood at the edge of the clearing, staring into the dense thicket of trees. I had come out to get some fresh air and hopefully clear my mind. The darkness stretched out like fingers beckoning me into it. I hadn’t gone through these forest paths before, but I had in the dream.

“Luna?” Evelyn’s voice cut through the fogginess in my head.

I turned and watched her approach me purposefully as her gold hair shone in the dim light of the moon. I had summoned her before I came out. She’s wearing light battle armor, and she has a sword strapped behind her back, its hilt shining in the dim light.

“We need to talk,” I softly yet resolutely told her. “Walk with me.” I turned and walked into the woods.

Evelyn sighed a bit but fell into stride beside me through the woods, the rustle of the dry leaves accompanying us and disturbing the silence that hung outside. An owl's periodic hoot punctuated our walk.

“I’ve been having the dreams again,” I said after a moment.

Evelyn’s face didn’t change, but I could feel the slight stiffening of her shoulders. “The ones with the silver figure?”

I nodded in response. “It’s no longer just a figure. It has become something… more. It guides me. It calls to me. And each time, I find myself drawing closer.”

Evelyn gave me a sidelong glance. “You think it’s the goddess?”

“I don’t know,” I said, my voice catching as my fingers brushed the pearl pendant lying at my throat. Its magic hummed softly, a constant reminder of what I was capable of and what I’d already paid. “But there’s something more. Something that showed itself to me in the dream last night.”

We stopped beside a shallow stream, the water glittering in the moonlight. I knelt at the edge and let my fingers dance on the cold water.

“I saw Dane,” I whispered. I scooped some of the water into my hand and then let it drop out through my fingers.

Evelyn inhaled sharply, it was so fast, I nearly missed it. I stood up slowly as I turned to her. She kept her lips pursed and had her gaze focused across the horizon; her expression was blank, but it felt like I could tell what was going on in her mind.

I swallowed as I went ahead to explain myself. “He wasn’t like he is now,” I blurted out. “He was… whole. And the figure, the silver light… it touched him. It didn’t feel like a memory. It felt like a message.”

Evelyn knelt and touched the water; she hissed, I guess because of the cold temperature. Her expression was impossible to read.

“What kind of message?” she asked.

“I think it’s trying to show me that there’s still something left of him,” I said, my voice shaking slightly. “Something worth saving.”

Neither of us said a word for a moment. The gentle murmur of the stream took the place of conversation between us, its soft bubbling curiously calming.

“I need your help,” I finally said, locking my eyes with hers. “Evander has pinpointed the location of the Nameless’s lair. I’m heading there.”

Evelyn’s eyes widened with shock as she surged to her feet. “Aurora, you can’t be serious. That place is going to be filled with shadow creatures. You just can’t walk in there all alone; you won’t be able to walk out.”

“I won’t be,” I said, getting up too.

She must have caught on because a streak of comprehension lit within her gaze, and her arms crossed. “You want me to go with you.”

“You’re the best fighter I have,” I said bluntly. “And I trust you, more than anyone else.”

Evelyn’s face softened, though her voice didn’t. “What about Trajan? Or Evander? You know they would never let you do this.”

“If I tell them, they’ll only try to stop me, and that’ll waste time with arguments. We can’t waste any time. Not now, not when it involves Dane’s life, and the protection of the entire pack depends on this.”

Evelyn hesitated a moment, jaw clenching as my words sank deep.

“Please,” I begged, my voice dropping to a low whisper. “If there is even the slightest possibility of his return, I have to try. And I just can’t do it without you.”

Long after what seemed like an eternity, Evelyn blew out a heavy sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. “You’re reckless, you know that?”

I gave her a faint smile in return. “So I’ve been told.”

“Alright,” she finally said, “I’m in. But if this goes sideways, I’m dragging your ass out of there, whether you like it or not.”

“Fair enough,” I replied.

As we started on our way back to the pack house, our footsteps were quiet and deliberate. Already, the plan was coming into play in my mind, every little detail falling into place like the pieces of a puzzle.

“Luna,” Evelyn said out of the blue, her tone laced with caution.

I turned to face her. “Yes?”

“You’ve been through so much for Dane,” she went on. “I get it, really I do. But aren’t you scared that with all this, you might just be losing yourself in the process?”

The question took me aback, and for what felt like a moment, I was stunned.

“I don’t know,” I said finally. “But if saving him means losing myself… I believe that’s a price I’m prepared to pay.”

Evelyn didn’t say a word, but the expression in her eyes spoke volumes about her doubt.

As we reached the edge of the forest, the pack house loomed in the distance, a sanctuary I felt a little deserving of.

“Rest,” I said to Evelyn. “We’ll leave at the first light of dawn.”

She nodded and turned for her quarters, but I didn’t budge, looking up at the sky. The moon hung low and heavy, its light casting long shadows across the ground. I touched the pearl pendant once more, its cool surface soothing me.

Whatever was coming – Dane, the Nameless, the darkness – I would meet it… and I would win. Even though my heart faltered at the thought of winning, I still had to give it a try… I have to make sure I win.

I had no other choice… for him… for us… for the kids.