The bridge of moonlight hummed beneath my feet.
Each step sent a tremor through my bones—not pain exactly, but pressure, like the world was pressing its thumb against my chest, testing how much I could bear before I bent.
I didn’t look back.
I could feel Ronan behind me—steady, unmoving, exactly where I had asked him to stand. Not following. Not pulling.
Anchoring.
The sealed door loomed closer with every step. Its surface was not stone, not metal, but something alive—etched with scenes that shifted when I wasn’t looking. Lunas kneeling. Lunas crowned. Lunas bleeding.
Lunas alone.
My throat tightened.
“Remember,” the Guardian’s voice echoed distantly. “This Path does not show you what you want.”
The air changed.
The bridge vanished.
And I was no longer underground.
I stood in t
