Page 43 of Moonlit Fate

“What happens if we don’t take part in this ritual?” I tried to corral the panic stampeding through my veins.

“For every action, there is always an outcome, just as there is in this case,” the seer reasoned. “If you choose not to performthe ritual… ah, but why spoil the surprise?” His chuckle grated against my patience, and I fought the urge to scream.

I rolled my eyes. “Surprises are overrated.”

“That may be, but I don’t think you’d appreciate the consequences if you deviate from your role.”

I slammed my fist on the seer’s wooden table, frustration boiling in my veins. “Why can’t you just give me a straight answer?” I demanded, my voice hitching as panic rose inside me. “You aren’t providing any guidance or offering suggestions about where we can gain the knowledge on how to carry out this ritual. But then you say there’s no alternative but to carry out this ritual?”

“There is always a choice,” the seer said, nonchalantly unfurling a scroll of parchment and scrutinizing its contents before rolling it up again. “However, if you wish to fulfill your destiny, silly girl, you’ll perform the ritual. Five days from tomorrow’s dawn, under the shadow of the eclipse.”

“From tomorrow’s dawn… so, six days!” I exclaimed. “You have got to be kidding me. So, let me get this straight. We have to decipher your vague instructions, learn and then execute this ritual, all in the next six days? That is ridiculous!” Pressure built behind my eyes. The headache that had been eased by Patches was now back with a vengeance. An unseen clock ticked away, its sound growing louder and more ominous.

I studied Atticus to see if he was as affected by the seer’s proclamations as I was. Outwardly, he showed no signs of worry or discomfort.

“Why does it have to be us? Why together?” I continued pressing the strange man for answers as my heart beat a rapid tattoo against my ribs. What had caused my pulse to soar when I studied Atticus? Was it worry or something else?

“Open your ears and listen, girly,” the seer said. “I already told you, all will be given to you as you need it. I have nothingmore. Off with you.” The seer waved a dismissive hand as if shooing away a pesky insect, not two people burdened with a cryptic prophecy. He didn’t look at us again, and I felt the sting of being dismissed and pushed aside.

“Fine.” My muscles pulled tight with tension. As we turned to leave, the urgency that had been building inside me reached its peak. I strode out, not looking back at the seer or his familiar. Atticus followed me in silence.

The seer’s words lingered as we left the strange cave. A labyrinth of questions raced through me, each one more bewildering than the last.

“Six days,” the number slipped from my mouth again, its echo bouncing off the walls of doubt that closed in on me. “Can I even do this?”

The reality that I would have to choose a path that could either lead to my pack’s salvation or our ultimate demise pressed down on me. My throat constricted, making it difficult to take in air. Panic clawed at my chest, threatening to overwhelm me.

But Atticus was there, his thumb tracing circles on the back of my hand in silent reassurance. His other hand guided mine to rest on his chest over the steady beat of his heart.

Atticus lay his hand over mine. “Look at the bird.” He pointed, and I followed his gesture to a small finch hopping along the ground. “Breathe with me,” he coaxed gently.

Inhaling deeply, I focused on matching my breath to the rhythmic beat of his pulse. Each exhale shed a layer of the fear that clung to me. As my panic receded, I was tethered more firmly to the present, to him.

“Thank you.” My voice trembled, and a single tear betrayed my attempt to stay composed. It was all too much. The ritual, the prophecy, the unknowns that stretched before us.

“Listen to me,” he said. “I am right here with you. Every step, every challenge. You are not alone, Aria.”

His words were a lifeline, pulling me back from the turbulent sea of confusion. The conviction in his tone was the rock I needed to cling to. He wasn’t going anywhere.

“Can I trust you?” I asked. The question was more for myself than for him, a plea for the certainty I so desperately sought.

“Always,” he said with an intensity that went straight to my core.

And then, against all my earlier resolution to keep distance between us, I leaned into him. My lips met his with a hunger born from overwhelming desire. The kiss sealed my fate, binding me to him for the third time.

It was a contradiction, this craving for freedom from my burdens yet yearning for the tether that was Atticus. But as our mouths moved together, I realized that sometimes, the heart sang a silent song that overpowered the howling winds of reason.

11

ATTICUS

Icould taste Aria’s desperation in the kiss. Even though every fiber of my being yearned to get lost in her, I broke away from her, the sudden absence of her warmth a punch to the gut. Her eyes, wide with hurt, reflected my own discord.

“Hey,” I said softly, placing a finger under her chin so she’d look up at me. “I want you—all of you—but not like this. Not when your world is spinning out of control. Not in the middle of a magical forest, with a seer and his feline friend spying on us.”

Her unique silver eyes locked on mine, and a hush fell over the forest around us, as if it was anticipating what would happen next. I did my best to express my desire for her through my gaze. She blinked, and the world came back.

Without a word, we started walking again, the silence a thick veil between us. She was close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from her body, yet miles away.

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