"Prove it." The older man's voice was harsh, slicing through the council chamber's suspense. As the other elders sat quietly, their countenance dismal, his hard, relentless gaze locked onto me.
Proof what? Stepping forward, Luca murmured, his voice tinged with controlled rage.
The older man ignored Luca's enquiry and said, " prove that the bond isn't a threat." "You will pass the Trials of the Moon without wavers if the bond is really a blessing as you claim."
"The Trials haven't been invoked in decades," another elderly person replied, seeming unsure. Do we know this is absolutely required? {
"It's the only approach to bring the pack together," the first elder said. "Should they fail; it will show that the link is just as perilous as we worry about."
And in case we are successful? My voice firm despite the knot of anxiety growing in my chest, I questioned.
The older man turned to look at me, his face inscrutable. The pack will so be forced to follow you.
As we entered the open and the whispers of the pack echoed far away, the air outside the cave was frigid and piercing.
Luca said, "This is crazy," raking a hand through his hair. "The Trials?" Aria, their design is meant to break individuals. This is a death sentence not just some exam.
Then we will survive, I answered, trying to keep my voice calm.
Do you even realize what you are saying? He turned to face me and yelled, "The Trials aren't fair." They are terrible. They will drive us to the brink, and should we fail— "
"We have no choice," I said, raising my voice. Luca, you heard them. Should this not be done, the pack will turn against us. We cannot simultaneously battle the competing pack and them.
He fixed me with grey eyes full of irritation and something else—fear. At last he gasped sharply and nodded. Alright. But never allow yourself believe for a moment that I would let anything happen to you.
The first trial started at night; the pack gathered on the edge of the woodland under the cool, faint crescent moon. The elderly stood in a circle, their expressions solemn as they went over the policies, or lack thereof.
One elder remarked, his voice resonating in the stillness: "You must make it to the clearing at the heart of the forest." "The road is full with difficulties meant to test your relationship. You cannot succeed unless by cooperating.
And if we fail as well? Luca asked in a harsh voice.
The eye of the elder was icy. Then the pack and the tie will go.
As we walked down the little trail, the forest engulfed us fully and the heavy canopy overhead darkened the moonlight. The air was thick, nearly stifling, and the mark on my wrist glowed weakly, as though alerting me of the approaching peril.
Luca murmured, his voice low, "Stay close."
I said, my anxiety eroding with every step: "I wasn't planning on wandering off."
The first difficulty arrived right away. From the ground, a dense mist emerged, swirling around our legs and hiding the road forward. Low and eerie whispers permeated the air, hard to follow where they came from.
"Do you hear that? I said softly.
Indeed, Luca answered, his voice strained. "Ignorance it. Keep on your path.
Still, the murmurs became louder and their statements clearer:
"You lack strength enough." This is not something you will endure.
The questions they sow were like poison, invading my psyche and rooting themselves. Stopped, my heart thumping as the murmurs became loud.
"Aria," Luca exclaimed, snatching my arm. "Listen not to them." They aren't real.
"But supposing they are right? With a quivering voice, I asked.
"They're not," he stated with great conviction, his grey eyes fixed on me. You have more strength than this. We are more powerful than this.
His comments sliced through the mist of my thoughts, and I nodded, stammered. We pressed forward, the muttering quieting as the mist cleared.
The second difficulty was worse. From the shadows emerged a pack of wolves, their eyes ablaze with an unearthly light, their howls resonating through the air.
Stepping in front of me, Luca remarked, "They're not real."
My pulse pounding, I said, "They look real enough to kill us."
With slow, methodical motions, the wolves rounded us. One lunged, and Luca responded right away; his body blurred as he caught it. Their tangle of snarls and claws sent them down to the ground, and I hurried forward, my instincts overcoming my dread.
" luca!"I yelled and swung a branch from the ground towards the wolf." Luca forced himself to his feet, blood pouring from a minor cut on his arm, and flung it staggered backwards.
"Good swing," he murmured, his voice firm yet breathless.
"Thanks," I responded, continued pounding.
Their brilliant eyes vanished one by one as the surviving wolves withdrew into the darkness.
"Two down," Luca muttered, his eyes straying over the black road ahead. "What's next?"
The last obstacle surprised me unlike anything other. Before us was an image that shimmered like a mirage in the night. Her face marked with grief, my mother grabbed for me.
"Aria," she continued, her voice kind yet firm. Come along. You are not obliged in doing this.
I stopped; the sight of her caused heart ache. For a minute I wanted nothing more than to leap into her arms; she seemed so genuine, so alive.
"Aria, it's not her," Luca sharply stated.
But it is—
Once again, he added, grasping my shoulders and pushing me to look at him: "It's not her." "That is the trial. It is meant to break you.
Tears distorted my view, but I nodded, my hands tightening on his arms. We turned away from the image together, and the woodland surrounding us appeared to sigh as the road ahead opened, the repressive force easing.
We came upon the clearing in the middle of the woodland, the ethereal brightness of the crescent moon enveloping everything. The mark on my wrist shone brilliantly, and the pendant around my neck flamed with light.
We made it, I replied, relief shaking in my voice.
But before we could rejoice, a shadow with brilliant eyes pointed at us out of the woods.
Its voice low and menacing, "You've passed the first trial," it murmured. Still to come, however, is the toughest.
Luca's palm tightened around mine, and I knew he was seeing the same thing I was: this was just the start.