You ought to have let me know.
My voice harsh as I turned to Luca, the words slipped past before I could stop them. The training yard was vacant, broad shadows of the faint moon spreading across the ground.
Luca tightened his jaw and narrowed his grey gaze. "Told you, Aria what?" Every choice I make seems to be teetering on the brink of a razor. One mistake might demolish everything we have created."
"Yes! I turned back, my anger bubbling up. Luca, you are not allowed to exclude me. Not when the foundation of everything we do relies on this link to function.
He stepped in front, his presence intimidating. "This link is the only thing holding us together; should it break—"
Then perhaps it wasn't powerful enough to start with, I said, the words biting more than I meant.
The stillness that followed was deafening; the tension between us thick enough to suffocate might kill. Luca's hands closed at his sides, his wrath hardly restrained.
"Is that what you really believe? His voice low and threatening, he asked.
No, I said, my chest constricting. But when you withhold things from me, it seems that way. Luca, we ought to be in this together. Half the time, however, I have no idea what you are thinking.
His tone stern as he continued, "I'm thinking about the pack." " About how to keep kids secure. About how you could remain protected.
My voice shaking, "I don't need you to protect me," I replied.
Indeed, you do, he said sharply. "Because this pack loses more than
just Beta's daughter if you are injured. Its future is lost.
The words strike me like a gut-reversal blow. "So that's what I am to you? My voice faltered as I asked. A future? a duty? The "
His irritation clear as he responded, "Don't twist my words." You surpass it in many ways. You are, as you know.
Would I? I questioned, moving forward. " Right now, it seems like this link is more of a weight than anything else."
His shoulders stayed tight even as his gaze relaxed. "Only if we allow it will the link be a burden. Aria, however, I cannot do this by myself. Also neither can you.
Though it warmed me, the pure integrity in his voice was insufficient to totally relax the stress. Everything—the trials, the pack, the prophecy—was bearing down on us, ready to break whatever delicate link we had created.
Then stop excluding me, I replied softly, my voice barely above a whisper.
He nodded, the struggle depleting his stance. "I will try. But you have to believe me as well.
The anxiety stayed with us back to the pack house. Damon came to meet us at the door, his face stern. "You two fine?'''
"Fine," Luca answered sharply, passing him.
Rising an eyebrow, Damon looked at me and said, "Doesn't look fine."
"It's nothing," I answered, without confidence in my voice.
"If you say so, Damon remarked with a dubious voice. But you may want to sort things out quickly. The pack is beginning to notice.
Later that evening, I was sitting by myself in the forest, the cold night air calming my skin. The pendant around my neck pulsed weakly, gentle light falling on the ground.
From the shadows, Kael muttered, "You're too quiet."
Do you ever present yourself as a regular person? Not trying to keep my irritation under control, I asked
"Where in that is the fun? Smoking as he leant against a tree, he answered. What then is gnawing at you?""
"Nothing," I answered, but my voice deceived me.
Kael slanted his head, his golden gaze keen. "Trouze in paradise?"''
I shot him, but his smile only became more pronounced.
"It's not like that," I sighed at last.
"Sure it's not," he responded, his tone playful but not nasty. Although you and Luca may be close, it does not guarantee flawless sailing.
Bonds with this kind of messiness are challenging. They highlight both human strengths and shortcomings.
"Thanks for the pep talk," I remarked sarcastically.
"Anytime," he murmured, his smile softening to something more real.
"But really, you have to meet him halfway if you for this friendship to be strong. One-way traffic is not what trust is about.
Long after he disappeared, his words stuck with me as the reality of them settled firmly in my chest.
Luca was in the council chamber reading over maps and patrol schedules early the following morning. He glanced up as I arrived, his face guarded.
Closing the door behind me, I remarked, "We have to talk."
He nodded and took down his pen. "I am listening."
I stopped; the words stuck in my throat. At last I murmured, "I'm sorry." For what I said last night. I intended not to mean it.
Luca's eyes softened, then he rose and started to approach. "I'm sorry, too," he said softly. "For you to believe I don't trust you. I do, Aria. More than everybody else.
His voice's genuineness warmed me, and for the first time in days the strain between us started to relax.
The pendant lit as we stood together, and the mark on my wrist burned weakly. A murmur gentle yet forceful kept repeating in my head.
"The bond gets stronger, but the trials are not quite over." Get ready for that which lies ahead.
I looked back at Luca, heart thumping. "We face it together whatever happens next."
"Together," he said, his voice calm but with a little force.
Deep down, however, I could not get rid of the sensation that the toughest test still lay ahead.