Page 31 of A Reign of Malice (Wolves of Lunara #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

JULIAN

W e’re taken back to Aurora’s house in silence, the acknowledgement of what we’ve lost pressing down on all of us like a suffocating force. Even the goddess herself, who seems to thrive on chaos, says nothing as she lifts her hand, tendrils of shimmering gold energy spiraling through the air.

With an uncharacteristic solemnity, she conjures a pristine sheet of white silk, draping it over Estee and Theo with a care I don’t expect from her. The fabric glows faintly before settling over their forms, a final reverence to the warriors they were.

Isla doesn’t thank her. She doesn’t even lift her head.

Her trembling fingers remain curled around Estee’s hand, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

Asher kneels beside her, his jaw clenched so tightly I can see the muscle twitching from across the room.

His darkened eyes track Aurora’s every move, watchful, wary.

But for once, the goddess seems respectful.

“If there’s any chance of me doing as you’ve demanded, I need to go,” she announces, her voice quieter than usual but still laced with authority.

As she speaks, the golden silk of her gown starts to shift, the marks of our prior battle disappearing as the fabric changes colors.

The once-radiant gold is now black as midnight, clinging to her like a living shadow as she adds, “My home is a fortress. You’ll be safe here until I return. ”

No one responds. Not a word. Even Isla doesn’t snap at her.

Aurora steps forward, pressing her palm against a ripple of light in the air, and then she’s gone, dissolving into a shimmering veil that vanishes just as swiftly as it appeared.

A heavy sigh beside me breaks the silence.

I glance at Sloane, watching the way her arms wrap around her body, the tension still coiled in her frame.

Her fingers tremble, just barely, but she presses them into her sides, as if physically restraining the emotions raging beneath the surface.

The battlefield is behind us, but the war still lingers in her eyes.

I follow her gaze to where Estee and Theo lie unmoving, their presence still commanding, even in death. Isla’s breaking apart before us, her pain bleeding into the room like an open wound, but there’s nothing any of us can say to her. No words to fix what’s been done.

I turn to Sloane. She’s still standing, still breathing, still here. And while it might be selfish, that’s everything to me.

I lift a hand to the back of her neck, pulling her closer, grounding us both in the warmth of our bond. She doesn’t resist. Instead, she leans into my touch, pressing her forehead lightly against my chest, her breath warm against my skin.

“I was terrified,” I admit, my voice quiet but raw. “Out there, in that fight, I thought I might lose you.”

Her throat bobs as she swallows hard. “I thought I might lose you too,” she whispers. “We weren’t prepared for that. ”

“No, but you handled yourself as if you were.” I slide my fingers into her hair, tugging gently until she lifts her gaze to mine.

“I’m sorry I tried to shield you as if you couldn’t protect yourself.

I see your strength, Sloane. I feel it in every breath you take, in every strike you made on that battlefield.

I hope you can understand that my actions weren’t out of doubt or disrespect.

They were instinct. Because you are, without question, more than I ever could have dreamed of.

” I let my thumb brush over her cheek. “My mate. My equal.”

Her lips part slightly, and even though she doesn’t smile, I see it in her eyes. That flicker of light, of something deep and unbreakable between us. Then her hand slides over my chest, resting over my heart.

“Thank you,” she says softly. “I’ve spent too many years feeling like I had to prove my worth.”

A growl rumbles from deep within me before I can stop it, the very idea of her doubting herself making my blood burn.

It earns me a small, breathy laugh. “Easy, my mate,” she murmurs. “That’s in the past now. Once we get back, everything’s going to change.”

The reminder of home makes my hands tighten around her waist. My voice is steady, firm. “I’m going to kill him, Sloane. I hope you don’t have any objections.”

She is the only one who could stop me now. The only thing between Aeson and his inevitable death. But she shakes her head without hesitation.

“I’ll be right by your side,” she promises, her voice steady, unwavering.

“I know he made you suffer. But I don’t care about vengeance, Julian.

I just want him gone. So that this,” she glances at Estee and Theo, her jaw tightening, “can one day feel like nothing more than a nightmare we’ve woken from. For all of us. ”

I let out a breath, pressing my forehead to hers. “No matter what happens, we end this together.”

The moment lingers, taut and unwavering, before the air shifts once more. A familiar energy crackles through the space, pressing against my skin like a slow-building storm. Then, in a flash of swirling gold, Aurora appears.

But she isn’t alone.

A young woman stands beside her, her presence an unsettling mix of mortal and divine.

Hair like fresh-fallen snow cascades down her back, the strands almost too bright to look at directly.

When she turns to us, deep violet eyes glimmer with an eerie, knowing light, centuries of wisdom encased in a deceptively youthful face.

If I didn’t already sense her wolf, I’d think she was Aurora’s direct descendant. Though there’s something more. Something beyond any shifter I’ve encountered before.

A low growl rumbles from Isla as she surges to her feet, her stance tight with barely contained rage. “What the hell is Elyn doing here?” Her eyes flick to Aurora then to the woman at her side, suspicion sharpening her every breath.

Aurora waves a dismissive hand, as if Isla’s outburst is nothing more than a mild annoyance. “She’s here to ensure I don’t die.”

Elyn inclines her head slightly, her attention settling solely on Isla and Asher. “This is god magic,” she says, voice steady, deliberate. “Something none of you are used to dealing with.”

Isla’s nostrils flare, her hands curling into fists at her sides. “But you are now?” she snaps. “I’m not in the mood for games. From either of you. So tell us the whole plan. No riddles. No half-truths.”

Aurora exhales, her gaze lowering to Theo and Estee, their still forms a silent demand. “The way they died—by the hand of another god—it complicates things.”

Something cold slithers down my spine.

Aurora lifts her chin, meeting Isla’s burning stare head-on.

“I can bring them back,” she continues, “but if I do so the way I did for your mother, there may be consequences. They may look like themselves, but there’s a chance they won’t remember who they are.

That their bond may not even exist any longer. ”

The quiet that follows is suffocating. Isla’s breath catches, her body going rigid. I see it, her absolute refusal to accept a world where Estee doesn’t know her. Where she doesn’t feel her mate’s presence in every breath she takes.

But it’s Asher who speaks first. “And Elyn’s here because there’s an alternative?”

Aurora’s expression shifts slightly, something close to solemnity flickering beneath her usual bravado. “Correct. I can tie them to my essence,” she says, pointing at Theo and Estee. “Their lives will be linked to mine. As long as I live, so do they. If I die, they die.”

She shrugs, an edge of smug confidence creeping into her voice.

“But let’s be honest. I’m not going anywhere.

I’ve lived thousands of years, and I’ll live plenty more.

It’s far more likely they’ll live out their natural lives, die of old age, and be reborn like normal, no longer connected to me once that happens.

” Her lips curve slightly, almost wry. “While not ideal, this is the only other option.”

The tension thickens, heavy and unmoving. Isla doesn’t speak. She studies Aurora, as if weighing the goddess’s words, searching for deception. Then, finally, she turns to Elyn. “And you? What’s your role in all this?”

Elyn doesn’t falter under the scrutiny. She meets Isla’s glare with unshaken calm, her posture as steady as the goddess beside her.

“I’ll be the anchor for Aurora,” she says simply.

“What she’s doing for you is beyond reason.

It’s a risk to her power. A big one. I told her she shouldn’t go through with this, but our goddess does as she wishes.

” Her violet eyes flicker with firmness.

“Something you’d do well to remember as you stand here judging her. ”

Another stretch of silence. Then, Isla exhales, low and slow. “How can we help?”

Aurora smirks. “Funny you should ask.” Her attention flicks toward me and Sloane, eyes glittering with mischief. “The two of you will be in charge of restraining her.”

Sloane stiffens beside me. “Excuse me?”

Aurora gestures toward Isla. “If she interrupts my process, you’re all as good as dead.”

A growl tears from Asher’s throat. “I don’t really think threats are necessary.”

The goddess lets out a resounding chuckle, one that lacks its usual edge of amusement. “Oh, darling. That’s not a threat. You have no clue what I have to do next.” Her expression hardens, and the air around her thrums with something deeper, something primordial.

“Here’s an idea,” she purrs. “How about everyone just does their best not to piss me off while I do this and then we can all go our separate ways and never suffer one another’s company again?” Her smirk grows as her still-golden eyes glow. “Sound fair?”

Nobody says anything, no objections or agreements, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the goddess.

A deep pulsing spreads around us. The room is heavier now, charged with something unseen but potent enough to make my wolf stir .