ARIA POV
"The choice is yours, Moon Alpha," the thing said. "But choose quickly. The Shadow Lords have found this place."
As if called by its words, the sound of screaming reached us from outside the Archive. The battle had followed us here.
I looked down at the book in my hands. All I had to do was open it, read the rite, and accept that the four of us would die to save everyone else.
It should have been an easy choice. The lives of four people against the lives of billions.
But these weren't just any four people. They were my life. My heart. My soul.
"Aria," Lucien's gentle voice came through the bond. "It's okay. We love you. That's enough."
I took a big breath and opened the book.
The moment my eyes touched the old words, fire exploded through my mind. Knowledge poured in like liquid metal, burning itself into my thoughts. I saw the ritual in perfect detail—every gesture, every word, every sacrifice needed.
