CHAPTER 11
821 Words
THE SECOND BOND
Lyra's POV :
The words on my pendant disappeared before I could touch them.
THE SECOND BOND HAS AWAKENED.
I stared at the black stone.
My fingers trembled.
"What did it mean?"
Neither Darian nor Riven answered.
I looked at them.
"What?"
Darian's expression was unreadable.
Riven, however, looked almost amused.
"Congratulations."
I frowned.
"For what?"
"You've managed to make an impossible situation considerably worse."
"Riven."
He sighed.
"Fine."
He pushed away from the tree.
"The second bond means another mate has awakened."
My stomach dropped.
"Another mate?"
Darian's jaw tightened.
"There shouldn't be another."
"That's what you said about the fourth bond."
"I know."
I looked from one man to the other.
"So how many are there?"
Silence.
"How many?"
Riven's golden eyes met mine.
"Three."
My heart stopped.
"Three?"
"Potentially."
I shook my head.
"No. The Moon chooses one."
"That's what everyone believes."
"Then everyone is wrong?"
Riven smiled.
"Finally, you're catching up."
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I laughed.
It came out strangely hollow.
"First I'm rejected by my mate. Then I discover I'm supposedly descended from an ancient queen. Now you're telling me I have three more?"
"Not exactly."
Darian spoke quietly.
"A bond doesn't automatically mean love."
I looked at him.
"What does it mean?"
"Connection."
"And what happens if I don't want it?"
His eyes held mine.
"Then you fight it."
Something about the answer surprised me.
"You think I can?"
"I think you've already done things no one thought possible."
Riven's smile faded.
"He's right."
I looked toward the distant mountains.
"So someone out there can feel this?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
Riven's eyes darkened.
"Kael Ardent."
The name carried weight.
Even I knew it.
Alpha of the Crimson Vale.
Master strategist.
A man who had supposedly never lost a territorial negotiation.
"How do you know?"
"Because I can feel his presence through the bond."
I stared at Riven.
"You can feel it?"
His gaze sharpened.
"Not the way you do."
"Then how?"
He didn't answer.
Darian stepped forward.
"We leave now."
"Why?"
"Because if Kael knows you're alive, he'll come looking."
"Maybe that's what we need."
Darian shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because Kael never does anything without calculating what he gains."
Riven smiled.
"Neither do you."
Darian's eyes narrowed.
"That's different."
"Of course."
I looked between them.
"Stop."
They both fell silent.
I took a breath.
"I'm going to the Crimson Vale."
Darian stared.
"No."
I raised an eyebrow.
"You said we needed somewhere the Council wouldn't expect."
"Not there."
"Why?"
"Because Kael is dangerous."
I looked at Riven.
"And you're not?"
Riven smiled.
"No."
I blinked.
He leaned closer.
"I'm worse."
I should have been frightened.
Instead, against every sensible instinct I possessed—
I smiled.
And Riven noticed.
His expression changed.
For one brief second, the madness disappeared.
Something much more dangerous took its place.
Interest.
---
That night, we traveled.
The northern forest gradually disappeared behind us.
I walked beside Darian.
Riven remained several steps ahead.
For the first time, I wasn't thinking about Cassian.
I was thinking about the second bond.
And about what it meant.
I touched my chest.
Something pulsed beneath my ribs.
Not pain.
A pull.
Faint.
Distant.
But undeniable.
Somewhere far away—
someone was feeling it too.
---
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