Chapter 50. The Trap

Aria moved through the pre-dawn forest like a ghost, her senses dulled by the forced suppression of the bond. The world was stark and silent—no psychic hum, no shared certainty of Kade’s presence, only the cold, hard certainty of the forest floor beneath her feet. She had put five miles between herself and the Hidden Spring Caves, enough distance that Kade’s first, frantic psychic probe—when he inevitably woke—would not be able to pinpoint her location.

The Moon Wolf essence in her still fought her choice. It was a raw, physical ache that demanded she turn back, demanding the proximity of its Anchor. She used the copper flame—the Flameborn’s stubborn, lonely fire—to keep it caged, smothering the silver light that might betray her.

Her plan was simple: get as far east as possible, cross the border mountains, and disappear into the forgotten, unaligned territories where the writ of the Blood Court held no power. She would become the permanent exile, the wandering anomaly,