The sanctuary cracked.
Not from Aria's silver light.
Not from Ronan's battle with Elias.
Not from the stranger's magic.
But from something outside—
Something older than the mountain.
Older than the Moonborn.
Older than the prophecy itself.
A chilling wind slithered through the cavern entrance, cold enough to burn. The temperature plummeted instantly, frost webbing across the glowing crystal walls.
Aria clutched her chest, gasping as the wind hit her—
her veins pulsing
her bones trembling
her heart stumbling painfully.
"Ronan…" she whispered, voice small and breaking.
He tore his gaze from the corrupted wolf he grappled with.
What he saw nearly stopped his heart.
Aria knelt in the center of the sanctuary, silver light leaking from her eyes, her chest, her fingers—
like she was cracking apart
like the Moon was rising inside her.
"Aria," Ronan breathed, terrified. "Stay with me."
She reached toward him weakly. "Ronan… it's here."
A whisper answered:
Moonbreaker…
The shadows in the entrance thickened into a swirling mass, pitch-black and writhing like ink dropped into water.
You cannot run.
Aria whimpered, pressing her hands to her ears. "Stop—stop talking to me—!"
Her pulse exploded into silver light that rocked the entire cavern.
The stranger stumbled backward, eyes wide. "It's breaching the sanctum! That's impossible!"
Ronan snarled. "Keep it away from Aria!"
But the shadows moved with purpose.
Dark tendrils crawled across the sanctuary floor, avoiding crystals, avoiding symbols, heading straight for her.
You belong to me.
You were made for me.
You will break for me.
Aria screamed—
loud enough to shake the mountain.
Ronan roared and shifted fully into his wolf form, a massive silver beast, leaping in front of her. He slammed his body into the tendrils, snapping at them—
But the darkness hissed and recoiled only momentarily.
The stranger stepped beside him, flinging light magic toward the shadows. "I can delay it, but only for seconds—Aria must resist from inside!"
Ronan growled, voice distorted in wolf form. "HOW?!"
The stranger's face tightened. "Through her bond."
Ronan froze.
Bond.
Aria's final anchor.
"Aria!" he barked—but she was already slipping, collapsing forward as the transformation surged again.
Her glowing veins spread to her collarbone and throat. Her breathing turned jagged. Her fingers bent unnaturally as silver fire licked her skin.
"I can't—" she cried. "Ronan, I can't hold it—"
"Yes, you can!" Ronan shifted halfway back, gripping her shoulders. "Look at me! ARIA, LOOK AT ME!"
But her eyes rolled back, glowing white.
The shadows laughed.
She is mine.
Her fear feeds me.
Her power completes me.
Ronan bared his teeth, stepping between Aria and the shadows.
"Over my dead body."
The Devourer's darkness lashed outward—Ronan was thrown across the sanctuary, smashing into a crystal column. He hit the ground hard, choking on breath.
"Ronan!" Aria cried, reaching toward him—
But another pulse ripped through her.
Her body bowed backward unnaturally.
Her scream tore the air apart.
⸻
Aria Loses Control
The silver veins exploded outward, covering her chest and ribs. Her heartbeat thudded irregularly.
Her power fought itself—
Moonborn rising
Human resisting
Devourer pulling.
"No, no, no," Aria sobbed. "I can't—Ron—Ronan—help—"
He crawled toward her despite the pain. "Aria—stay with me—just a little longer—"
She shook violently, her body jerking.
Silver light burst from her spine.
Crystals shattered.
The sanctuary floor cracked beneath her knees.
The stranger swore under his breath. "She's reaching the breaking point—she'll destroy herself if she doesn't stabilize!"
"THEN HELP HER!" Ronan roared.
"I can't!"
The stranger grabbed Ronan's arm. "Only you can reach her through the bond!"
Aria's scream cut through everything.
Ronan lunged to her side, pulling her into his arms despite the burning heat radiating off her. Her body felt like molten metal and ice at once.
She whimpered against his chest. "Ronan… I feel like I'm dying…"
"You're not!" He held her forehead to his. "Look at me—open your eyes, please—"
She forced them open.
Silver.
Terrified.
Losing herself.
He cupped her face. "You're Aria Hale. You're mine. You come back to me. Do you hear me?"
Her lips trembled. "I'm scared."
"I know. But fear doesn't own you. I do."
She gasped at his words—
and for a split second, her light steadied.
But the Devourer struck again.
The shadows surged across the floor, tendrils aiming directly for her heart.
Aria screamed, clutching her chest.
Ronan's vision turned red.
"No!" He lunged in wolf form, biting into the tendril, tearing it away from her. Darkness burned his tongue, but he refused to let go.
The Devourer hissed.
Foolish wolf.
She is already half-mine.
Aria collapsed into Ronan's arms, sobbing. "It hurts—it hurts so much—please make it stop—"
Ronan shifted back fully, pulling her onto his lap. "I'm here. Stay with me. Stay in your body."
"I can't…"
"Yes. You can."
She looked up at him. "I feel like I'm splitting apart."
"You're transforming."
"I don't want to become a monster."
He shook his head fiercely. "You won't."
"How do you know?"
He took her hand, placing it over his heart.
"Because monsters don't cry to be saved."
Aria broke again, sobbing against his chest.
The stranger shouted, "Ronan—the shadows are reforming!"
Dark tendrils rose behind them like a tsunami of night.
Ronan shielded Aria with his entire body.
"I won't let you take her!"
The shadows laughed.
You cannot stop destiny.
You cannot stop me.
Aria trembled violently. "Ronan… I hear it—I hear everything—it's in my head—"
"Then drown it out," he whispered. "Listen to me instead."
She clung to him.
"I'm trying…"
Her fingers curled around his shirt.
"I want to stay with you."
Ronan's heart shattered.
He wrapped both arms around her, pulling her into his lap, protecting her from the cold, the dark, the world.
"You will," he whispered fiercely. "I swear it."
But the stranger's voice broke through the moment, urgent:
"Ronan—Aria's heart—look!"
Ronan looked down—
And his breath froze.
A symbol burned faintly over her sternum—
not a rune
not a mark
but a moon sigil glowing from beneath her skin.
The stranger whispered, horrified, "It's beginning."
Ronan swallowed. "What's beginning?"
"The Moonbreaker transformation. The final stage."
Aria's eyes widened in terror. "I can't—Ronan—I can't survive this—I'm not strong enough—"
He cupped her face again, guiding her gaze to his.
"You're stronger than you know."
"But if I change—"
"I'll still be here."
"I might hurt you."
"Then hurt me. I don't care."
Her breath caught.
The Devourer's shadows rose like a wave behind them.
The mountain shook.
Aria screamed as her chest split with silver light—
And the Devourer whispered:
Become mine.
Ronan roared as the shadows struck—
And everything exploded in blinding white.