CHAPTER 108: CHAPTER 108: TRIAL OF STONE

ARIA POV

Thorne’s massive hand crashed into the stone wall where my head had been a second before.

"You can’t run forever!" he roared, pulling his hand free from the hole he’d made in solid rock.

I rolled between his legs and came up behind him, but the Eldest’s voice stopped me from hitting.

"Halt!" she ordered. "The Moon Goddess has spoken!"

The golden light in Luna’s eyes pulsed once, then faded back to silver. My daughter looked around the cave in confusion before focusing on me.

"Mama? Why is everyone staring at me?"

But the Eldest was studying the crack patterns Thorne’s punch had made in the wall. Her old face grew pale with worry.

"The mountain has decided," she announced. "This challenge cannot be solved by simple combat. The stone itself begs the Trial of Stone."

"What trial?" I asked, helping Luna sit up straight.

"An ancient test," Raven said, her silver eyes wide with fear. "No one has attempted it in over two hundred years."

"Because everyone who tries it dies," Thorne added with satisfaction. "Perfect. The cursed girl and her defender can die together."

"The trial is not for death," the Eldest corrected firmly. "It’s for truth. The mountain will test both rivals’ hearts. Only those pure of aim can survive."

"Both challengers?" I asked.

The Eldest nodded. "You challenged for Raven’s freedom. She challenged for her own life. Both problems must be answered."

Kael stepped forward. "What exactly does this trial involve?"

"Three tests," the Eldest explained. "The Test of Courage, where fear becomes truth. The Test of Sacrifice, where you must choose what counts most. And the Test of Truth, where lies become poison."

"And if we fail?" Raven asked quietly.

"Then the mountain keeps you forever," the Eldest said simply.

I looked at Luna, who was still weak from her sleep. I couldn’t leave her, but I also couldn’t let Raven face this alone. The girl had spent three months in chains because her own father feared her power.

"I’ll go with you," I told Raven.

"So will I," Kael said instantly.

"No," I started to complain, but he cut me off.

"You’ll need help. These mountain trials are meant for multiple people working together. That’s why no one has survived alone."

Thorne laughed roughly. "Take all the help you want. The mountain will crush you anyway."

"What about you?" I challenged him. "Aren’t you going to defend your position?"

"I don’t need to," Thorne said smugly. "Mountain law says if the challengers die in the hearing, their challenges are void. I win by default."

The fool. He was going to let the mountain do his dirty work for him.

"The trial begins at moonrise," the Eldest announced. "Prepare yourselves."

An hour later, we stood at the opening to a tunnel carved deep into the mountain’s heart. Luna was safely with the Eldest, who promised to keep her protected. Kael had gathered materials, though the Eldest warned us that most tools wouldn’t work inside the trial.

"Remember," Raven said nervously, "the mountain responds to purpose. If you go in wanting to fight, it will give you enemies. If you go in trying to survive, it will test your survival skills."

"What if we go in planning to help each other?" I asked.

"Then maybe we have a chance," she said.

We entered the tunnel together. Immediately, the entry sealed behind us with grinding stone. The only light came from silver crystals embedded in the walls, creating eerie shadows as we walked deeper into the mountain.

"First test coming up," Kael warned, his military senses alert to danger.

The tunnel opened into a vast room. In the center stood three doors marked with old symbols.

"Choose your fear," a voice repeated from everywhere and nowhere.

The left door showed a sign of fire. The right door showed dying waves. The middle door showed a broken family.

"It’s showing us what we’re most afraid of," I realized.

"Which one do we pick?" Raven asked.

"None of them," Kael said suddenly. "Look at the walls."

I followed his look and saw what he’d noticed. Hidden in the shadows was a fourth path, unmarked and almost unnoticeable.

"The trial isn’t about facing our fears," I understood. "It’s about refusing to let fear choose our path."

We took the secret passage. Behind us, the three doors burst into flames, water, and screaming voices. But we were already moving forward.

The second room was worse. Three pedestals held objects that called to each of us individually. On the first sat a crown that would make me the most powerful Alpha who ever lived. On the second was a vial that would cure any wound, including Luna’s mysterious illness. On the third was a key that would free every imprisoned wolf in the world.

"Choose your sacrifice," the mountain’s voice ordered.

"This is the real test," Raven breathed. "We have to choose what to give up."

"No," I said, studying the setting carefully. "We have to choose what we won’t sacrifice."

Instead of taking any of the things, I reached for Kael’s hand. He instantly understood and took Raven’s hand. The three of us stood together, making our choice clear.

"We won’t sacrifice each other," I vowed.

The room shook, and the pedestals crumbled to dust. The objects were exposed as illusions.

"Two trials down," Kael said. "One to go."

The final room was the strangest yet. It was totally empty except for a single mirror in the center. But when I looked into it, I didn’t see my image.

I saw Silas.

"Hello, Aria," his image said kindly. "Ready to hear the truth?"

"This isn’t real," I said, but my voice shook.

"Isn’t it? Look closer."

The mirror showed me Luna, still asleep, but now I could see what was really happening to her. Dark energy was wrapped around her like bands, feeding off her power.

"I never left," Silas continued. "When I stole a taste of her goddess power, I also left a piece of myself behind. I’m slowly taking her life force from the inside."

"You’re lying," I whispered, but the fear in my heart said otherwise.

"Am I? Check your mate bond with Lucien. When did you last feel it clearly?"

I reached for the link and found... nothing. Just empty space where Lucien’s presence should be.

"I’ve been blocking your connections one by one," Silas stated. "Soon, you’ll be completely alone. And then Luna will die, and there will be nothing you can do to stop it."

"The Test of Truth," Raven said quickly. "Aria, remember where we are! This is the trial!"

But looking at Silas in the mirror, I felt a horrible confidence that he was telling the truth.

"Prove you’re lying," I asked.

Silas smiled. "Why don’t you call for Lucien? If I’m lying, he should answer immediately."

I reached out through our mate bond, calling his name with all my strength.

Silence.

"Lucien!" I called out loud.

Nothing.

"He can’t hear you," Silas said with pleasure. "Because he’s not there anymore. I’ve already taken him."

That’s when I felt it—a familiar warmth touching my mind. But it wasn’t Lucien.

It was Luna.

My daughter’s voice whispered in my thoughts: "Mama, the bad man is lying. Uncle Lucien is right here with me. But there’s something else. Something you need to know about the mirror."

"What about it?" I thought back.

"It doesn’t show truth. It shows your darkest fear made real. And Daddy’s fear is that he’s not strong enough to protect us."

I spun around to look at Kael. He was looking into the mirror with horror on his face.

"What do you see?" I asked.

"You," he whispered. "Dead. Because I failed to keep you safe."

"And you?" I asked Raven.

"My father," she said, tears running down her face. "Telling me I really am cursed. That I destroy everything I touch."

"It’s all lies," I realized. "The mirror shows us our fears, not truth."

But as I reached for the mirror to smash it, Silas’s voice came from everywhere at once—not just the mirror.

"Actually, Aria, some of those fears are about to become very real."

The chamber filled with his controlled wolves, their blue eyes glowing as they surrounded us.

"You see, while you were playing mountain games, I was setting a trap. And you just walked right into it."

The mirror shattered, but Silas’s laughter echoed from the broken pieces.

"Welcome to the real trial," he said. "Let’s see if you can survive this one."

The controlled wolf’s claws raked across my shoulder as I threw myself sideways.

"Kael, behind you!" I shouted.

He spun and caught the attacking wolf by the throat, but three more were already jumping toward us. We were trapped in the trial room with nowhere to run.

"The crystals!" Raven called out. "Break the silver crystals!"

I didn’t question her. My fist smashed into the nearest crystal lodged in the wall. Light burst outward, and the controlled wolves stumbled backward with howls of pain.

"Their blue eyes are artificial!" Raven explained, avoiding another attack. "The crystals’ silver light disrupts whatever Silas uses to control them!"

Working together, we broke crystal after crystal. Each explosion of silver light lessened Silas’s hold over the wolves. Soon, their blue eyes flickered back to normal colors, and they fell in confusion.

"Impossible," Silas’s words echoed angrily through the chamber. "Those crystals were supposed to be decorative!"