CHAPTER SEVEN
**Aria**
The night before my duel with Morgana crawled by with agonizing slowness. Raven had commandeered the pack's strategy room, spreading maps and ancient texts across the massive oak table while his warriors stood guard outside.
"Your aunt's power comes from shadow magic," he explained, pointing to an illustration in one of the books. "It's the opposite of your moon magic. Where you create light, she creates darkness. Where you heal, she destroys."
"Comforting," I muttered, studying the disturbing images of shadow magic's effects.
"But that also means you have a natural advantage," he continued. "Light always defeats darkness—if it's strong enough."
"And if it's not?"
He didn't answer, which was answer enough.
Stella entered carrying a tray of food, her hands shaking slightly. "You need to eat," she said, setting it down beside me. "You'll need your strength."
I wasn't hungry, but I forced myself to take a few bites. "Stella, what happened to everyone else? Really?"
She glanced nervously at the door, then sat beside me. "It's been bad, Aria. After you left, Prince Zander changed. He became obsessed with finding you, then when he couldn't, he turned that obsession into rage. Anyone who'd shown you kindness became a target."
"But why?" I asked. "He rejected me. He got what he wanted."
"Did he?" Stella asked quietly. "From what I've seen, rejecting you broke something in him. The healers say it's because you were his true mate, not just a regular mate bond. Rejecting a true mate... it can drive a wolf mad."
"Good," I said, but the word felt hollow. Despite everything, I couldn't find satisfaction in his suffering.
A commotion outside interrupted us. Prince Zander himself entered, flanked by two guards. Raven immediately moved between us, hand on his sword.
"I'm not here to cause trouble," Zander said, raising his hands. "I need to tell her something. About Morgana."
"You have thirty seconds," Raven said coldly.
Zander's eyes found mine, and I was shocked by the pain I saw there. "Morgana came to me three weeks ago. Before your birthday. She knew what you were, knew you were the lost princess. She offered me a deal—reject you publicly, humiliate you, drive you away, and she'd make me king of all the western territories."
"And you agreed," I said, not surprised but still hurt.
"I did," he admitted. "I was a fool. I thought... I thought power mattered more than a mate bond. But the moment I rejected you, I knew I'd made the worst mistake of my life. The bond didn't break cleanly. It's still there, twisted and painful, driving me slowly insane."
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because Morgana played me, and she'll play you too. She doesn't just want your power—she wants to corrupt it. Turn you into something dark, like her. The duel tomorrow isn't about winning or losing. It's about making you desperate enough to tap into shadow magic."
"That's impossible," Raven interjected. "Aria has moon magic, not shadow."
"Everyone has both," Zander said. "Light and dark, moon and shadow. It's about which one you feed. Morgana knows if she pushes Aria hard enough, threatens enough innocent people, she'll reach for any power available—including the darkness."
"And if I do?"
"Then you become like her. And the prophecy she fears—the one about you restoring the Moonstone Kingdom—dies with your light."
He turned to leave, then paused. "I know you'll never forgive me, and I don't deserve forgiveness. But I couldn't let you walk into that fight without knowing the real trap."
After he left, the room was silent for a long moment.
"He could be lying," Stella offered.
"He's not," I said, feeling the truth of his words in my bones. "It makes sense. Morgana doesn't just want me dead—she wants me corrupted. Another dark queen to help her rule."
"Then we need a new plan," Raven said. "One that doesn't involve you fighting her directly."
"No." I stood, feeling more certain than I had all night. "I still fight. But now I know what not to do. I won't reach for the darkness, no matter what she threatens."
"Even if innocent people die?"
"If I become like her, innocent people will die anyway. More of them, for longer." I met his eyes. "Sometimes the hardest choice is refusing to compromise your principles, even when the cost is high."
Raven studied me for a moment, then nodded slowly. "You sound like a queen."
"I sound like someone who had good teachers," I corrected, thinking of Mrs. Greta and all her lessons about choosing good even when it hurt.
The rest of the night was spent in preparation. Raven drilled me on defensive techniques while Stella helped me choose appropriate clothes—something that would allow freedom of movement but still mark me as royalty. We settled on leather pants, a silver tunic, and a cloak bearing the moon crest I'd only recently learned was mine.
As dawn approached, I stood at the window watching the sky lighten. Raven joined me, his presence comforting.
"Whatever happens," he said quietly, "I want you to know something."
I turned to face him, surprised by the vulnerability in his expression.
"The bond between us—I didn't want it at first. I thought it was another curse, another burden. But these past weeks..." He cupped my face gently. "You've brought light back into my life, Aria. Literal and figurative. If this is goodbye—"
"It's not," I interrupted, covering his hand with mine. "I'm going to win."
"But if you don't—"
I silenced him by rising on my tiptoes and pressing my lips to his. The kiss was gentle at first, then desperate as the mate bond flared between us, demanding to be acknowledged. When we finally pulled apart, we were both breathing hard.
"I'm going to win," I repeated. "And when I do, we're going to talk about this bond properly."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
A horn sounded in the distance—Morgana's signal that it was time.
My escort to the neutral ground was larger than expected. Not just Raven and his warriors, but Prince Zander and many of the Shadow Creek pack members. Even some I didn't recognize, wolves from neighboring territories who'd heard about the challenge.
Morgana waited in the center of a natural clearing, her black robes billowing in a wind that touched nothing else. Up close, she was beautiful in a terrible way, like a perfectly carved ice sculpture.
"Little niece," she purred as I approached. "You look so much like your mother. Same naive optimism in your eyes."
"My mother was strong enough to hide me from you for thirteen years," I pointed out. "Even in death, she outsmarted you."
Morgana's perfect features twisted briefly in rage before smoothing back out. "She delayed the inevitable, nothing more. Your power belongs to me, child. One way or another."
"Then let's find out which way."
The duel began without further ceremony. Morgana struck first, shadows erupting from her hands like living tentacles. I dodged, calling on my moon magic to create a shield of silver light. The two forces met with a sound like screaming wind.
"First lesson," Morgana said conversationally as she attacked. "Power without experience is useless."
She was right. For every attack I managed to block, three more got through. Shadow tendrils wrapped around my ankles, throwing me to the ground. Dark spears barely missed my head as I rolled away.
"You're weak," she taunted. "Untrained. Unworthy of your heritage."
I struggled to my feet, blood running from a dozen small wounds. In the crowd, I could see Raven being held back by his own warriors, his face a mask of rage and fear.
"Second lesson," Morgana continued, walking toward me slowly. "Mercy is weakness."
She gestured toward the crowd, and several children were pushed forward—orphans from Shadow Creek's omega quarters.
"Surrender now, or they die."
This was it. The trap Zander had warned me about. I could feel the darkness calling to me, promising power enough to save everyone if I just reached for it.
"Third lesson," I said instead, standing straighter. "You talk too much."
I dropped every shield, every defense, and poured all my power into one massive burst of pure moonlight. It erupted from me in a sphere, expanding outward with the force of a small explosion.
Morgana, caught mid-gloat, had no time to defend. The light hit her like a physical force, sending her flying backward. She hit a tree with a sickening crack and crumpled to the ground.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then Morgana laughed, pulling herself upright with shadows. Half her face was burned, her perfect features destroyed.
"You little fool," she hissed. "You think light alone can defeat me?"
"No," I admitted, swaying on my feet from the power expenditure. "But I don't need to defeat you. I just need to survive until sunrise."
She glanced east, where the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon.
"Solar eclipse," I said, remembering something from one of Raven's books. "Shadow magic is strongest during an eclipse, but weakest in the moments after, when the sun returns. All I had to do was last until dawn."
"Clever," she admitted. "But dawn is still minutes away."
She attacked again, more viciously this time. I couldn't dodge them all. A shadow spear pierced my shoulder. Dark claws raked across my ribs. I fell to my knees, vision blurring.
"Aria!" I heard Raven roar.
"Stay back!" I shouted, or tried to. It came out as more of a wheeze.
Morgana stood over me, shadows writhing around her like living things. "Last chance, child. Surrender your power, or die."
I looked up at her, then past her to the rising sun. "I choose option three."
"Which is?"
"This."
I grabbed her ankle with my good hand and channeled not moon magic, not shadow magic, but something else. Something I'd only just realized I could do.
I channeled the mate bond.