(Aria's POV)
The Veil Woods swallow us whole the moment we step past the first tree.
One second, we're walking through normal forest. The next, reality twists. The trees grow taller, their bark glowing faintly silver. The air tastes like magic—sweet and dangerous. Even the light is wrong, filtering through leaves that shimmer with colors that don't exist in the normal world.
"Stay close," Cassian warns. "The Veil doesn't follow natural laws. You can get lost here in seconds."
Zander walks beside me, shadows still crawling under his skin. Every few steps, he winces. The curse is eating him alive from the inside.
Good, the angry part of me thinks. Let him suffer.
But another part—the part that felt our powers merge during the battle—whispers that his pain is my pain now. Through our broken bond, I feel every spike of agony he tries to hide.
"How far to the ritual site?" Lyric asks, scouting ahead.
"Three days on foot," Cassian says. "If the forest lets us through that quickly."
"What does that mean?" Seren demands.
"The Veil Woods are alive. Sentient." Cassian's violet eyes scan the glowing trees nervously. "They test travelers. Show them visions. Make them face their deepest fears and desires. Many who enter never leave."
"You could have mentioned that before we came in here," I mutter.
"Would it have changed your decision?"
No. Morrigan is hunting me. Zander is dying. We don't have a choice.
We walk in silence for hours. The forest grows stranger with each step. Trees twist into impossible shapes. Flowers bloom and die in seconds. I hear whispers in languages I don't understand.
Then Zander stumbles.
I catch his arm instinctively before he falls. The moment we touch, power surges between us. Violet light and curse shadows spiral up our connected arms.
"Don't," he gasps, pulling away. "Your power accelerates the curse when we touch."
"But it also strengthens you," I point out. During the battle, our merged power gave him energy.
"For a moment. Then it drains faster." He leans against a tree, breathing hard. "We can't risk it until the ritual."
Through the bond, I feel his fear. Not of dying—of hurting me in the process.
"Fine." I step back. "But if you collapse out here, I'm leaving you."
It's a lie. We both know it.
Zander almost smiles. "Noted."
"We should set up camp," Lyric announces, pointing to a small clearing ahead. "It's getting dark."
In the Veil Woods, dark means something different. The trees themselves start glowing brighter, casting everything in eerie silver-blue light. Strange sounds echo through the forest—howls that aren't quite wolves, whispers that sound almost like words.
We make a fire in the clearing. Lyric and Cassian take first watch. Seren falls asleep quickly, exhausted from healing her injuries.
I sit by the fire, unable to sleep. My mind won't stop racing. Morrigan's army. The curse. The ritual. My merged power with Zander.
What does it mean that our abilities connected? Mate bonds shouldn't work after rejection. But something between us is still active. Still growing.
"Can't sleep either?"
I jump. Zander sits down across the fire from me, keeping careful distance.
"Don't you have dying to do?" I ask coldly.
"I'm working on it." He almost smiles. "The curse likes to take its time."
We sit in uncomfortable silence. The fire crackles between us. Through the broken bond, I feel his emotions—guilt, regret, longing. It's exhausting.
"Why did you really reject me?" The question comes out before I can stop it. "And don't give me that speech about being afraid. I want the real reason."
Zander stares into the fire for a long time. "My mother died when I was eight. My father died when I was seventeen, leaving me to rule a realm I wasn't ready for. Every person I've ever loved has left me through death or betrayal." He finally looks at me. "When our bond formed and I felt how deeply I could love you, I panicked. Because loving you meant giving you the power to destroy me."
"So you destroyed me first," I whisper.
"Yes." No excuses. No justifications. Just the truth.
Something in my chest cracks. Not forgiveness—I'm not ready for that. But understanding.
"I grew up believing I was worthless," I tell him. "That the only value I'd ever have was through a mate bond. When you rejected me, you confirmed every horrible thing I'd ever been told about myself."
Zander flinches like I struck him. "Aria—"
"But then my power awakened." I hold up my glowing hand. "And I realized my worth has nothing to do with you or anyone else. I'm powerful because of who I am, not who wants me."
"I know." His voice is rough. "I see that now. You're extraordinary."
"Too late." I stand up. "You had your chance to see me. You chose not to. Now you get to live with that choice."
I walk to the other side of the clearing and lie down with my back to the fire. To him.
Through the bond, I feel his anguish like a physical wound.
Good. Let him hurt.
I close my eyes and try to sleep.
But the Veil Woods have other plans.
The moment I drift off, the vision hits.
I'm standing in a beautiful bedroom. Sunlight streams through windows. I'm wearing a simple dress—comfortable, not borrowed or torn.
"Aria?"
I turn. Zander walks in, but he looks different. Younger. Happier. No shadows under his skin. No curse. He's smiling at me like I'm the most precious thing in the world.
"Ready for breakfast?" he asks.
This isn't real. It's a vision. The forest showing me something.
But it feels so real.
"Where are we?" I ask cautiously.
"Home." Zander crosses to me and takes my hand gently. "Our home. Where we've lived for the past two years since I accepted you as my mate."
My heart clenches. This is the life I could have had. The one where he never rejected me.
"This isn't real," I whisper.
"It could be." His voice is soft. "If you forgive me. If we restore the bond completely. This future is still possible."
I want to pull away. To reject this false vision.
But I don't.
Instead, I let vision-Zander pull me close. Let him hold me like I'm precious. Let myself imagine what it would feel like to be wanted. Loved. Safe.
"I missed you," vision-Zander whispers against my hair.
"This isn't real," I repeat. But my voice cracks.
"It could be," he says again.
The vision shifts. Now we're in a council chamber. I'm wearing formal robes. People bow as I pass. Zander stands beside me—not in front, not behind. Beside.
"The Heir of Thorneblood and the Alpha Prime," someone announces. "The most powerful bonded pair in five realms."
Power. Respect. Partnership. Everything I want.
Everything he denied me.
The vision shifts again. A child laughs. A little girl with violet eyes and black hair runs toward us. Our daughter.
No. This is too much.
"Stop it!" I scream.
The vision shatters.
I wake up gasping, tears streaming down my face.
Everyone is staring at me. Lyric. Cassian. Seren.
And Zander, who looks stricken.
"The forest," Cassian says quietly. "It showed you a vision, didn't it?"
I can't speak. Can't breathe.
"What did you see?" Seren asks gently.
Before I can answer, Zander gasps and doubles over. The curse flares violently. Shadows explode across his body, consuming more of him.
He's dying. Right now. Faster than before.
"The vision accelerated it," Cassian says urgently. "The forest fed on your emotions. Whatever you saw, it made the curse worse."
Zander collapses to his knees, shaking. Through the bond, I feel his life force draining.
"How do we stop it?" Lyric demands.
"We can't." Cassian looks at me desperately. "Only Aria can. She has to channel her power into him. Stabilize the curse until we reach the ritual site."
"But touching makes it worse," I protest.
"Not touching will kill him in the next hour." Cassian grabs my shoulders. "You have to choose, Aria. Save him now and risk accelerating the curse later. Or let him die here in the forest."
I look at Zander. He's barely conscious, shadows covering half his body. Soon they'll reach his heart and it'll be over.
I could let it happen. Let the man who rejected me die. Get my revenge.
But I'd also be killing thousands of innocent people when the curse spreads to his realm.
And I'd be killing the possibility of that vision ever coming true.
Damn it.
I kneel beside Zander and press my glowing hands against his chest.
Power floods through our connection. Violet light battles the curse shadows. I pour everything I have into him, forcing the darkness back.
Zander's eyes snap open. They lock onto mine, ice-blue and full of desperate gratitude.
"Thank you," he breathes.
The curse retreats slightly. His breathing steadies. But I can feel it—we're running out of time faster now.
I pull my hands away before we merge powers again.
"That'll hold him for maybe twelve hours," Cassian says grimly. "We need to move faster."
As we pack up camp, I feel the forest watchin
g us. Judging us.
And deep in the trees, something laughs.
The Veil Woods aren't done testing us yet.