Chapter 11
Aiden’s POV
I paced my dorm; the shadows curling around me in restless coils.
“Fuck,” I whispered, raking a hand through my hair as the memories clawed their way back in.
The second the fog had faded from Rynlee, and she stepped out at the top, I felt it.
Not a physical sensation, not at first. It was deeper.
A pull, ancient and relentless. Something inside me snapped taut, a tether I hadn’t known existed.
Then came the scent. Lavender and wild sunlight.
It hit me like a drug, sharp and dizzying, wrapping around my senses and choking the air from my lungs.
I tried to breathe through it, tried to ignore it, fight it, but then I saw her.
Limping into the clearing, her body alive with golden runes, sun, fire, starlight, and her hair catching in the moonlight like strands of sunlight.
She glowed.
Not just with Hemera’s power, but with something deeper, something that made the air itself hum. And in that moment, a part of me broke open. I couldn’t stop myself. I stepped closer, grabbed her arms, and pulled her against me. My face brushed her hair as I breathed her in like a starving man.
Her magic thrummed beneath my palms, pure and radiant.
Everything I shouldn’t want. Everything I couldn’t resist. It wasn’t just intoxicating.
It was binding. I yanked back, forcing distance, my hands still gripping her forearms. The golden runes pulsed between us, and fury surged up in me.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not to her.
Not to me. I met her eyes and saw the confusion there, the pain, the spark of power she couldn’t yet control.
For a heartbeat, I almost said something. Almost admitted what the bond had already made clear. But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. So, I did the only thing I could. I turned away. Stormed into the crowd, fists clenched so hard my knuckles cracked. My lungs burned. My mind reeled.
She’s the Sun. And I…the Moon. Fated. Bound. Opposites. One day destined to collide. And she didn’t even know what it would cost her. I slammed my fist into the stone wall of my room, welcoming the sting, the split skin. The shadows withered around me, hissing her name.
“Of all people,” I muttered darkly, pacing again, “it had to be Ruin. The most reckless, infuriating, impossible girl.” The air rippled.
The world shifted. My dorm vanished, replaced by the black sand dunes of the Moon Realm, jagged craters glowing faintly beneath a fractured, star-scarred sky.
Shadows snapped at my heels like restless hounds. Khonsu was already waiting.
“Now is not a good time, Khonsu,” I muttered, still fuming.
“You sensed it, didn’t you?” His voice was calm, steady as moonlight. “The bond.”
My jaw locked. “Yeah,” I ground out. The word tasted like gravel. I dragged a hand through my hair, pacing, unable to stay still. “And it was fucking Ruin.”
Khonsu studied me, unflinching. “So, it’s true.”
“You knew,” I hissed, “didn’t you?”
“Well…” He tilted his head, silver eyes gleaming. “Yes. And no.”
Two strides and I had him by the collar, slamming him back against jagged stone. Shadows flared sharp and wild with my anger. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
He didn’t fight me. Never did. Just raised his hands calmly, like he’d seen this play out a hundred times before. “Because this is exactly how you’d react. You would have tried to stop it. And you can’t prevent what the gods set in motion.”
I shoved him back with a snarl and resumed pacing, fists clenching.
“You’re godsdamn right I would’ve stopped it.
Rynlee is weak, Khonsu. Reckless.” My voice turned cold.
“Not to mention, I hate her. I find her annoying. Now my life is tied to her, and if she dies doing something stupid, my existence is over.”
“Then protect her,” he replied simply.
“Protect her?” I snapped. “She barely makes it through sparring. She is clumsy. Unfocused. Hell, she almost died on the third tier saving Luna. If our bond had been sealed then, I’d have felt it. Every cut. Every bruise. She’s going to get us both killed.”
Khonsu’s tone shifted, firmer now, cutting through me. “And yet Hemera chose her. Do you think she wastes her power on fools?” His eyes flashed onyx. “If Rynlee were truly as fragile as you claim, the Sun Goddess never would’ve touched her. She was always destined to carry the light.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “What the hell are you talking about? Hemera didn’t have to grow up watching her trip over her own feet, shadowing me and Alaric like she had something to prove.
” Khonsu stepped closer. The shadows curled along the crater’s edge, restless.
His voice dropped, heavy as drawn steel.
“Hemera has watched Rynlee since she was small. She is a descendant of the Sun Goddess, just as you are a descendant of me.” A chill ran down my spine.
“You’ve carried the Moon’s gift for three years, Aiden.
You know what happens when you fight it.
If you keep rejecting her, the shadows will stop whispering.
” His gaze locked on mine. “They will start to command. And you will obey.”
The words settled deep, sharp, and unwelcome. Rynlee and I, destined for divine power. It only made this worse. For a moment, I almost asked what he meant.
Almost.
Instead, I sank onto the edge of the crater, forearms braced on my knees. My voice came out rough, fraying. “I’ll work with her. For the sake of the world. But I will not like her. And I refuse to love her.”
Khonsu crouched beside me, eyes steady, relentless. “That is fine. You do not need to love her, Aiden. Not yet. Just learn to work together. You are stronger together.”
I dragged a hand down my face, a bitter laugh scraping out of me. “There is no yet, Khonsu. As much as you and Hemera think we belong together, you’re wrong. Rynlee and I? We don’t fucking fit.” He studied me for a long moment.
“The gods do not make mistakes,” he said quietly. “You may not love her now. But you will find denying it much harder.”
I scoffed. “Just send me back.” Khonsu nodded.
The realm dissolved, returning me to my room.
The bond would be the ruin of me. I couldn’t love Rynlee.
I loved Jasmine. I had a life before this.
And now I was trapped in this godsdamn school, bound to the girl who’d always earned more praise from my father than I ever did.
This wasn’t going to be easy. If anything… it was going to be impossible.
The next morning, I headed out for a solo run.
I needed air. I needed something to focus on besides the bond clawing at the back of my mind.
As I made my way toward the trail, I spotted Brandon standing by the plaque again.
I walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t good at comforting people, but if I ever lost Alaric, I’d want someone there for me.
Brandon stared at Clive’s name, his fingers brushing over the engraved letters. He let out a shaky sigh.
“I miss him, Aid,” Brandon said quietly.
I squeezed his shoulder. “I know, man. But don’t give up.
You’ve got to be strong for both of you.
” I glanced at Clive’s name too. I was sure he would’ve made it out.
But Arcanna had a habit of chewing people up and spitting them out.
Some of us just lasted longer than others.
“Want to come on a run with me?” I offered.
“Nah,” Brandon said, shaking his head. “I’m gonna stay here a little awhile longer.
” I gave his shoulder one last squeeze before turning toward the trail.
The crisp October air bit at my skin, sharp and unforgiving, and I welcomed it.
The forest stretched around me in waves of red, orange, and gold, leaves crunching underfoot as my pace quickened.
I was hoping this run would help. It didn’t.
No matter how hard I ran, my thoughts refused to quiet.
I was bound to Ruin. Stuck in this godsdamn school.
Chained to training with her when I should’ve been at the Eastern Encampment, figuring out what the hell was actually happening out there.
Derek had sent word back, fragmented and uncertain.
Even he didn’t know what was going on. And my father, ever the brilliant commander, wanted me here.
Babysitting the Sun’s chosen. Playing guardian instead of soldier. What happens next year when I leave? When the war finally drags me where I belong? Would she be obligated to follow me into it? Or worse, would I be forced to stay behind while the rest of the third years graduate?
Khonsu’s warning gnawed at me like rot. If you keep rejecting her, the shadows will stop whispering. I scoffed aloud, shaking my head as I tore down the path. I didn’t need Ruin to fight the darkness. I never had. I had survived on my own long before the gods decided to meddle in my life.
She wasn’t going to save me. No one ever had.
If this whole disaster was going to work, I’d push her harder.
Force her to adapt. Until she either broke or—Intruder.
The word hissed so loudly it stopped me dead.
My chest rose and fell in sharp bursts as I scanned the tree line, eyes cutting through the morning mist.
“What are you talking about?” I muttered. “I don’t see anyone.” The shadows coiled tighter, restless.
Intruder. Watching.
My jaw clenched. This was exactly why I didn’t listen to them.
They lied. Twisted reality into paranoia.
Or worse, they were right, and that was something I wasn’t ready to face.
I forced my legs to move, breaking into a harder sprint, pounding the trail until the academy came back into view.
As I crossed the courtyard, my lungs burned and sweat slicked my skin, but my thoughts were no quieter.
It was almost time for my first training session with Ruin. Gods.