Luna Everleigh's POV
***
The fire crackled between us, casting flickering shadows on Rhydian's sharp features. The battle earlier had left us weary, but exhaustion did little to dull the tension that simmered between us. It was a quiet thing, stretching between our unspoken thoughts, thick with something I was too afraid to name.
Rhydian sat across from me, his elbows resting on his knees, his golden eyes burning in the dim light. The flames reflected in his irises, making them look almost otherworldly.
"You should rest," he murmured, though there was something in his voice—something strained.
I shook my head. "After everything that happened, I doubt sleep will come easy."
He exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "I know the feeling."
A silence settled between us, but it wasn't uncomfortable. If anything, it felt… heavy. As if there were things waiting to be said, things neither of us dared to voice.
Finally, I spoke, my voice barely above a whisper. "I saw you."
Rhydian looked up sharply. "What?"
"In my dream. My vision. Whatever it was." I hesitated, the memory still raw in my mind. "You were there. But it wasn't you. It was… another version of you. Older. Different."
Something flickered in his gaze—recognition, but also something deeper. A quiet kind of fear.
"I don't know what it means," I admitted. "But I felt it. We weren't just strangers. We weren't just… fated."
His expression hardened. "Luna—"
"I know you felt it too," I interrupted, searching his face. "There's something between us that goes beyond this bond. Beyond fate. Isn't there?"
Rhydian didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze to the fire, as if searching for words in the embers.
Then, softly, he said, "There was someone once."
The shift in his voice sent a shiver down my spine.
"She was my mate. My first mate."
I felt my breath hitch.
Rhydian's jaw clenched, his hands tightening into fists. "She was taken from me. Ripped away before we could ever truly belong to each other." His voice grew rough, barely restrained. "I swore I'd never go through that again. Never let myself feel that kind of loss."
The ache in his words settled into my bones.
He looked at me then, his gaze unreadable. "And yet, here you are."
Here I was.
And neither of us could deny what was happening between us.
—
to be continued...