Page 215 of Moonlit Fate

I felt a surge, a silent acknowledgment from our bond. Closing my eyes for a moment, I focused on that power, on the pulse of it in my veins. When I opened them again, the world had shifted, wrapped in an opaque veil of shadows.

“Keep close,” I whispered.

We moved as one, unseen, the night cloaking us from prying eyes.

53

ATTICUS

The call from the dais came like a thunderclap. Caius, draped in robes darker than the night sky, stood waiting with Valora by his side.

“Join us,” Caius commanded.

I swallowed hard as I stepped up and took Valora’s outstretched hand, my stomach roiling.

“Ready?” Valora whispered, squeezing my hand.

“Let’s get this over with,” I muttered back.

Caius raised his arms, and the air crackled with unseen energy. Shadows danced at his command, more showy than necessary. I held my breath, bracing for... something. Anything. Nothing happened. No surge of power, no mystical connection. Just silence.

“Feel anything?” Valora asked, her brow furrowing.

I frowned. “Nothing. Do you?”

She shook her head, her grip on my hand tightening.

Perfect, I thought, though I didn’t dare say it aloud. This was going exactly as I’d planned.

Caius’s arms dropped, his face twisting into a scowl that made the elaborate lines of dark ink on his skin writhe inagitation. The air, heavy with anticipation mere moments ago, was devoid of the expected magical surge. I could feel Valora’s eyes on me, but my gaze was locked on Caius.

“What have you done?” he hissed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His eyes bore into me, searching for a lie that wasn’t there. “The linking isn’t working,” he whispered, each word laced with a threat.

I was clueless, the truth plain on my face. Then it hit me. The artifact in my pocket. A gift left in the ground for me to find. It had to be shielding me. It was the only explanation I could come up with.

“Must be some mistake,” I said, shrugging off his accusation even as my mind raced. I never thought the protective ward against dark magic would interfere like this. As Caius stepped back, his anger palpable, I knew I’d unintentionally thrown a wrench in his grand plan.

“Fix it,” he snapped before turning away.

Caius’s chants rose in a crescendo, starting the ritual anew. I crouched low, muscles tensed for what was next.

Then, all hell broke loose.

A commotion at the back snapped my head around, and there they were, half of the Silver Claw pack, storming in with a force that could rival a hurricane. I spotted faces of rogues and my chosen family in the crowd. Seren was at the forefront, her hands glowing as she amplified the spirits circling above them like spectral guardians. And Aria... Gods, Aria was magnificent, shadows swirling from her fingertips like ink spilled in water, her face alight with fierce determination.

“Remove the intruders,” Caius commanded, standing tall against the sudden intrusion.

I caught the eye of the few Crimson Fang I’d managed to sway—it hadn’t taken much more than the promise that I’d finda way to end Caius and his reign of terror. One nod from me was all it took. They understood. The air filled with the sound of bones shifting, sinew snapping as they transformed into their wolf forms. Snarls filled the chamber as they stood ready to fight, not for Caius, but against everything he represented.

A snarl ripped from Caius’s throat as calamity erupted. He had a smile on his face, thinking we were all pawns in his game, until members of his own pack surrounded him, teeth bared, eyes blazing with rebellion. The smile faltered, twisted into a scowl of realization. We weren’t his soldiers; we were the uprising.

“Traitors, “ he spat with venom.

I didn’t have time to revel in his shock. A hand found mine, firm and sure.

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