CHAPTER 79: THE VALLEY’S EMBRACE

Lucas replied. "It’s called the valley of desires. I’d heard the name once before, in passing. A place that offered you whatever you wanted most—but at a price."

Lucas nodded grimly. "It’s a trap. Everything here... it’s meant to keep you."

I swallowed hard. "It won’t work on me."

He looked over his shoulder, giving me a faint smile. "Of course it won’t."

But the way he said it sent a strange prickle down my spine.

We stepped into the valley, the ground soft beneath our feet. The deeper we walked, the heavier the air became. Like walking through honey, thick and cloying, each breath harder to take than the last.

I kept my focus on the path, ignoring the tempting flashes of things in the corners of my vision. Home. Jesse’s face. My pack running free beneath the full moon. My family, alive and whole.

None of it was real. I knew that.

But then Lucas faltered.

He slowed, his steps uneven. I caught up to him just as his sword slipped from his fingers and clattered to the grass.

"Lucas?"

He blinked, confused for a heartbeat—and then I saw his lips part in a whisper.

"Lira..."

My stomach twisted sharply.

What?

"Lucas?" I grabbed his arm. "Lucas, hey. It’s me."

His gaze unfocused, distant, as if seeing through me to something—or someone—else. His lips moved again, reverently this time, like prayer. "Lira..."

I froze.

No.

Lira. The king’s daughter. My... friend.

Hearing him speak her name like that—it was like being sliced open, all my bones hollowed out.

I was always going to be the other woman, wasn’t I?

My throat burned, but I shoved the pain aside. "Lucas," I said, sharper now, shaking him. "Lucas, snap out of it! It’s not real!"

He didn’t respond, his eyes wide, glassy with unshed tears.

Tears for her.

I wanted to scream, to tear this whole cursed valley apart with my bare hands. But what good would that do? I couldn’t fight illusions. I couldn’t fight the truth of what I was seeing on his face.

Still—I couldn’t leave him like this.

I pressed both palms to his cheeks, forcing his head down so he had no choice but to meet my gaze. "Lucas. It’s Athena. Look at me. Not her."

His jaw trembled. "She... she was supposed to be safe..."

I gritted my teeth, feeling my heart breaking and breaking and breaking. "I don’t care what she was supposed to be. You’re here with me. And I’m not going to let you die in this cursed place because of something that already happened."

He didn’t hear me. Or maybe he didn’t want to.

Suddenly, a tear slipped down his cheek. "I failed her."

I stood frozen, everything inside me screaming, What about me?

But I swallowed the pain. I shoved it down like I always did. Because survival didn’t care about heartbreak. I’d learned that the hard way.

And I refused to leave him here.

I slapped him, hard enough that my palm stung.

"Wake up!"

He flinched—but his eyes finally focused on mine, truly saw me, for the first time since we entered the valley.

"Athena..."

His voice cracked, raw and broken.

"Yeah," I breathed, fists clenched at my sides. "It’s me."

His breath hitched as confusion warred with regret in his eyes. "I... I’m sorry—I didn’t—"

"I don’t want your apologies," I snapped. "I want you to get up. You said we’d face this together. Remember?"

He nodded shakily.

"Then prove it."

Slowly, Lucas reached for me. His hand hovered like he didn’t deserve to touch me—and maybe he didn’t—but I let him, because I needed him as much as he needed me right now.

His fingers threaded through mine, cold and trembling. "I don’t know if I can do this."

"You don’t have a choice."

We moved together, slowly, step by agonizing step out of the lush green trap. The illusions fought for us, whispering promises of love, family, everything I’d ever wanted. But I ignored them.

What I wanted didn’t matter anymore.

All that mattered was survival. Getting the thing we came here for and getting out.

And then I heard it. Faint, but unmistakable. Voices. Real ones. Not the illusions, but people.

Lucas tensed beside me. "Do you hear that?"

I nodded grimly. "More people have been drawn here."

"They’ll be trapped too."

"Or worse," I muttered. "They might already belong to the valley."

We hurried forward, pushing through the thick, honey-slow air until we broke free of the flowers and green into a clearing.

And that’s when we saw it.

In the center of the clearing, rising from the earth like an ancient altar, was a crystalline spire. It shimmered with pale blue light, pulsing softly like a heartbeat. The artifact. The key to getting home.

But we weren’t alone.

Three figures stood around it. Twisted, strange—once human, now distorted by the valley’s magic. Their skin gleamed faintly translucent, as if the desires that once lived inside them had burned them hollow.

One of them lifted their head, eyes glowing faint gold. "You don’t belong here."

Lucas’s grip tightened on his sword, his strength returning with sheer force of will. "We’re not here to stay. We just want the key."

The figures tilted their heads, speaking in unison now, voices overlapping, sending chills down my spine. "Everyone wants something. What are you willing to give for it?"

I took a step forward. "We’re not bargaining."

"Then you will stay," the voices hissed.

They moved toward us, swift and silent like the dead.

Lucas pushed me behind him. "Stay back."

"No," I growled, stepping beside him. "We do this together."

As the first of the twisted figures lunged, I let go of everything—the heartbreak, the pain, the betrayal—and I shifted.

It didn’t come with pain this time. It came with rage.

Fur. Claws. Snarling fangs. The beast inside me surged forward with savage joy.

Lucas fought beside me, his sword an extension of his fury. Together, we met the guardians of the valley in a clash of magic, steel, and teeth.