Chapter 20: The Challenge Elodie Never Wanted

Elodie and I sat across from each other beneath the campus garden's glass pavilion, the Moon Court document lying between us like a weapon neither of us wanted to touch.

"I don't know," she repeated.

I leaned back. "That's not very reassuring when your name is literally written under Alternative Claimant."

Her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag. "You think I asked for this?"

"No. But wanting something and benefiting from it are different things."

She flinched, then looked away.

"My father says Lunaris needs someone trained for Pack leadership. Someone raised around politics."

"Meaning you."

"Meaning whoever he can control."

That answer made me pause.

Elodie laughed bitterly. "You think he suddenly believes I'm Alpha material? He barely lets me choose what dress to wear to Council dinners."

"Then why put you forward?"

"Because if I become Lunaris Alpha, Silvercrest gets influence without openly annexing the territory."

My anger sharpened. "So you're a bridge."

"A leash," she corrected.

For the first time since meeting her, Elodie looked less like the polished Silvercrest princess and more like a girl who had finally realized how little control she had over her own life.

"You still mocked me," I said.

"I know."

"You still tried to humiliate me."

"I know."

"And your aunt leaked my private messages."

"I didn't know she would do that."

"But you didn't stop her from investigating me."

Elodie swallowed. "No."

I stood.

"Then we're not friends."

"I didn't ask to be."

"Good."

She looked up at me.

"But if your father forces this challenge, I will fight it."

Her eyes hardened slightly. "I know."

"And I won't lose just because I feel sorry for you."

"I wouldn't want you to."

That answer surprised me.

As I walked away, Rowan stepped out from behind the hedges.

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough."

"You were listening again."

"Protective loitering."

"That's not a thing."

"It is now."

I rolled my eyes, but when he offered his hand, I took it.

The mate bond warmed instantly.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Want to talk?"

"I spent years thinking beauty was the thing deciding whether people valued me."

I looked back toward Elodie.

"Now I find out pretty girls get traded too. Just in nicer packaging."

Rowan's expression softened.

"Powerful families can be very good at turning people into assets."

"Your family too?"

He didn't dodge it.

"Sometimes."

"And you?"

"I'm trying not to be."

We reached the main path when Cassian called.

"The heritage inspection was approved," he said without greeting.

"Already?"

"Nightvale's legal office works frighteningly fast."

Rowan looked smug.

"You're welcome."

Cassian ignored him.

"We leave for Lunaris territory tomorrow morning."

My heart kicked hard.

"Tomorrow?"

"Unless you'd rather let Silvercrest file first."

"No."

"Then pack warm clothes. The eastern ridge is colder than Hollowcrest."

The call ended.

I stared at Rowan.

"I'm actually going there."

"Home?"

"I don't know if I can call it that."

"You don't have to."

He squeezed my hand.

"Not yet."

That evening, Knox found me outside my dorm.

He looked exhausted.

"What are you doing here?"

"I heard about Elodie's challenge."

"News travels fast when everyone is obsessed with my bloodline."

"Nessa, don't underestimate her father."

"I'm not."

"Silvercrest has spent decades building influence in the eastern territories."

"And Stormridge helped."

His jaw tightened.

"My father says he didn't know the full plan."

"Do you believe him?"

Knox hesitated.

"I don't know anymore."

That answer was more honest than I expected.

"I'm going to Lunaris tomorrow," I told him.

His expression changed immediately.

"Don't."

"Why does everyone keep telling me what not to do?"

"Because the old territory isn't safe."

"How would you know?"

"My grandfather took me there once when I was a kid."

I froze.

"Why?"

"I don't know. He called it a hunting trip."

"Did you see anything?"

Knox looked uneasy.

"A ruined estate. Burned buildings. A stone courtyard."

"Anything else?"

He closed his eyes as if reaching for an old memory.

"A giant cedar tree."

My pulse jumped.

"Moon beneath the cedar," I whispered.

Knox frowned. "What?"

"Nothing."

But Rowan, standing several yards away, had heard.

His expression turned sharp.

Because the place my grandfather had hidden his proof might be the same place Knox's grandfather had visited years after Lunaris fell.