(Aria's POV)
I can't breathe.
Rocks and dirt crush down on us from all sides. The cavern collapse buried us alive. I try to scream but dust fills my mouth.
Then Zander's arms wrap around me.
"Don't panic," he says against my ear. "I've got you."
Our merged powers flare instinctively. Violet light and curse shadows form a protective bubble around us, holding back tons of collapsed stone.
But I can feel the strain. We can't hold this forever.
"We're trapped," I gasp.
"Not for long." Zander's voice is strained but determined. Through our connection, I feel him channeling more power into the shield. "On three, we're going to push outward together. Ready?"
I nod against his chest, too scared to speak.
"One. Two. Three!"
We release our combined power in an explosive burst. The rocks around us blow outward. Fresh air rushes in. We scramble through the opening before more debris can fall.
We collapse on solid ground, coughing and covered in dust.
I roll away from Zander immediately, putting distance between us. My heart is racing—not from the near-death experience, but from what happened before the collapse.
Through our merged powers, he felt my emotions. He knows I don't completely hate him.
"Aria—" he starts.
"Don't." I hold up a hand. "Whatever you're about to say, don't."
"I felt what you feel," Zander says quietly. "When our powers connected—"
"That wasn't real." I stand up, brushing dirt off my clothes. "It was just the magic. It doesn't mean anything."
"You're lying." He stands too, wincing as the curse flares. "To me and to yourself."
"You don't get to tell me what I feel!" The words explode out of me. "You rejected me, Zander. You broke me. And now you think because I don't want you to die, that means I still love you?"
"I didn't say love—"
"But you felt it, didn't you?" Tears burn my eyes. "Through the connection. You felt that part of me still cares about you despite everything. And now you're going to use that against me."
Zander's expression crumbles. "No. I would never—"
"You already did!" I'm shouting now, months of pain pouring out. "You used my hope against me at the Claiming. You used my omega nature to humiliate me. Why should I believe you won't use my feelings now?"
"Because I love you," he says desperately. "I'm not trying to manipulate you, Aria. I'm trying to be honest for the first time in my miserable life!"
"Well, your honesty is too late!" I turn away before he can see me crying. "The ritual site is still two days away. Let's just get there, break your stupid curse, and then never speak again."
Silence. Through the bond, I feel his anguish like a physical weight.
Good. Let him hurt.
"Aria! Zander!"
I spin around. Lyric crashes through the trees, followed by Cassian and Seren. They all look terrified.
"Thank god you're alive," Seren says, pulling me into a hug. "The forest separated all of us. We've been searching for hours."
"What happened?" Lyric looks between me and Zander. His eyes narrow at our expressions. "What did the forest show you?"
"Nothing," I say quickly. Too quickly.
Lyric doesn't believe me, but he doesn't push. "We need to keep moving. The forest is getting more aggressive. If we stay in one place too long—"
The ground shakes.
Trees around us start moving, their roots pulling free and twisting like serpents. The glowing moss dims. Shadows spread across the forest floor.
"Run!" Cassian shouts.
We sprint through the twisting forest. Behind us, the trees are literally chasing us, branches reaching out like claws.
"This way!" Lyric leads us down a narrow path.
But the forest shifts again. The path disappears. We're surrounded by moving trees on all sides.
Zander stumbles. The curse flares violently across his body. He falls to his knees, gasping.
"No, no, no." I drop beside him. "Not now. We're so close."
Through the bond, I feel his life force fading. The curse is consuming him faster. The forest's attacks are accelerating it.
"Leave me," Zander rasps. "Save yourselves."
"Shut up." I press my glowing hands against his chest, channeling power into him again.
But this time, something's different. When our powers merge, the connection goes deeper. Stronger. I see flashes of his memories—
His mother dying when he was a child, leaving him alone with a cold father who taught him that love was weakness.
His father being killed in battle, forcing seventeen-year-old Zander to become Alpha Prime overnight.
Morrigan whispering in his ear year after year, telling him that mates were liabilities, that showing emotion would make him vulnerable.
The moment our bond formed and terror flooded through him because he'd never felt anything so intense, so overwhelming, so right.
His hand shaking as he spoke the rejection, knowing he was making the worst mistake of his life but too afraid to stop.
Every single day since then, regretting it. Hating himself. Wishing he could take it back.
I gasp and pull away. "I saw—"
"My memories." Zander looks at me with raw vulnerability. "The deeper our connection goes, the more we'll share. Eventually, you'll see everything."
"I don't want to see everything!" I stand up, shaking. "I don't want to understand you or feel sorry for you or—"
"Or love me?" he asks quietly.
"I don't love you." But my voice wavers.
Through the bond, he feels my lie.
"The trees stopped moving," Seren says suddenly.
She's right. The forest is still again. Watching. Waiting.
"It's testing you," Cassian says, looking at me and Zander. "The forest feeds on strong emotions. Your conflict is making it stronger."
"What do we do?" Lyric asks.
"Resolve it." Cassian meets my eyes. "One way or another, you two need to settle this. Accept him or reject him completely. But this limbo is tearing both of you apart and empowering the forest."
"I can't accept him," I whisper. "He destroyed me."
"And you can't reject him," Cassian says gently. "Because part of you still loves him."
The truth hangs in the air like a weapon.
Zander is staring at me with desperate hope. Lyric looks pained. Seren looks worried.
And I feel like I'm being ripped in two.
Before anyone can speak, a new voice cuts through the forest.
"How touching. Young love in crisis."
We all spin around.
A man steps from the shadows. He's beautiful in a dangerous way—dark hair, sharp features, eyes that seem to see through everything. Power radiates from him in waves.
"Kieran Blackthorn," Lyric growls, moving protectively in front of me.
The mysterious warlock smiles. "Hello, Lyric. Still playing hero for lost omegas, I see." His gaze shifts to me and I feel pinned in place. "And you must be Aria. The last Thorneblood. I've been looking for you."
"Why?" I demand.
"Because I can help you with your little curse problem." Kieran gestures to Zander, who's barely staying conscious. "The ritual you're planning? Dangerous. Painful. Fifty percent chance of killing you both."
"And you have a better solution?" Cassian asks skeptically.
"I have the best solution." Kieran pulls something from his pocket—a crystal that glows with the same violet light as my power. "This is a Thorneblood artifact. One your father hid before he died. It can break any curse without requiring forgiveness or emotional resolution."
My heart stops. "My father's crystal? How did you—"
"I've been collecting Thorneblood artifacts for years. Studying your family's magic." Kieran's smile turns predatory. "I can save Zander's life and free you from this bond completely. No ritual. No forced proximity. No difficult emotional choices."
"What's the catch?" Lyric asks.
"The catch," Kieran says, "is that Aria has to come with me. Let me study her powers. Help me understand what makes Thornebloods so special." His eyes gleam. "Partner with me, and I'll give you everything you want. Freedom. Power. Revenge on everyone who hurt you."
"Don't listen to him," Zander rasps. "He's using you—"
"Like you used her?" Kieran smirks. "At least I'm being honest about it."
He holds out the glowing crystal.
"So what do you say, Aria Thorneblood? Come with me and get everything you want? Or stay with the man who rejected you and risk dying for his sake?"
I stare at the crystal. At Kieran's outstretched hand.
Then at Zander, dying on the ground.
Through our bond, I feel his emotions. He wants me to take the crystal. To save myself. To be free of him even if it means losing me forever.
He's willing to die if it means I
don't have to suffer anymore.
And that realization breaks something open inside my chest.