Page 57 of Fourth

Third cursed low. Fifth’s hand went to his weapon automatically, only to realize he’d surrendered it upon arrival. Sixth said nothing, his stance so still it might have been carved from stone, arms folded, expression unreadable as though the entire scene failed to touch him at all. His eyes tracked the challenger with glacialcalm.

Vaeyra didn’t flinch.

She lifted both hands, and the air around her shimmered, not with light, but with something stronger. Like gravity increasing.

Silence slammed down again.

Vaeyra’s voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to. “This is law,” she said. Her eyes shifted to Riv’En. To Maya. And then down to the challenger standing below them like a living mountain.”It is Brotha’s right to issue challenge. His right to join the Bonding Chase.”

Maya’s heart slammed against her ribs. Her mouth opened, protest rising, breaking. But the words caught behind her teeth. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t speak. Her fingers tightened around Riv’En’s hand, the strength of his touch the only thing grounding her as what Vaeyra had said settled over her like stone. Not fear. Not anger. Something sharper. Cold disbelief, heavy as gravity.

“The winner,” Vaeyra said, “will claim the bond. The mate. The future.”

Brotha lifted his chin slightly. His silver eyes never leftMaya.

Vaeyra’s final words fell like a blade.

“Any who fail... will be forfeit.”

Maya’s breath caught. Her pulse stuttered. For a single beat, her mind whispered: this cannot be happening. And in that moment—

Riv’En’s voice broke the silence. Low. Calm. Absolute.

“Then let it begin.”

The words barely faded before Vaeyra’s voice rang out once more, sharp and clear. “Maya Mirabella, remove your robe. Riv’En and Brotha, as well. Brotha, join us on the platform.”

Maya’s breath caught, her spine going rigid. For a heartbeat, she hesitated, eyes flicking toward Riv’En. His gaze met hers, steady and unreadable, but he gave a single nod. There was no choice.

With trembling hands, she unknotted the ties. The pale robe slipped from her shoulders, sliding down her arms like water before pooling at her feet. Achill licked over her exposed skin, leaving her completely bare under the shifting dawn light.

Her skin was marked only by subtle bruises and flushed impressions left by Riv’En’s hands and mouth. Marks she wore with quiet pride, not as weakness but as a testament to the force of what existed between them. They weren’t blemishes. They were proof that even now, in the heart of a world that wasn’t hers, she belonged to something fierce and real. Marks of passion.

She bore them without shame, aquiet heat rising beneath her skin at the thought. They were proof of what they had shared. Nothing else to shield her, nothing else to hide behind.

The gathered warriors watched in silence, their expressions impassive as stone. Acold awareness pressed against the back of Maya’s neck, the suffocating stillness wrapping around her like an invisible net. Her skin prickled under their gaze, ashiver crawling down her spine despite the warmth of the dawn light. Even the women at the edges didn’t speak. This was ritual. Tradition. And it was about to begin.

Vaeyra’s voice cut through again. “Step to the edge. When I give the signal, you will run. The Bonding Chase commences from that moment.”

Maya swallowed hard, fighting the urge to look back once more. But she stepped forward, feet bare against the cold stone, until she stood at the platform’s edge. Beyond, the forest loomed. Darker than she’d imagined. Shifting with light and shadow.

She barely registered the sudden blur of movement behindher.

A sickening crack echoed through the courtyard. She whipped her head around just in time to see Riv’En drop to one knee. The challenger’s fist was still extended, afaint shimmer rippling around his knuckles from the force of theblow.

“No!” Maya’s voice ripped from her throat before she could stopit.

Brotha didn’t even glance at Riv’En. His silver gaze locked onto hers instead, aslow grin pulling across his sharp features. “You are mine, little human,” he called, voice a low growl that vibrated through the air itself.

Maya staggered back, her stomach twisting. Her pulse thundered in her ears. Riv’En—

“Run!” Vaeyra’s command cracked through the tension like lightning.

Maya didn’t think. Her body moved on instinct. She turned and bolted off the platform, bare feet slapping against stone, then grass, then soil. The forest swallowed her in seconds.

Branches clawed at her arms. Leaves brushed her face, slick and cold. The ground wasn’t smooth. Roots jutted up beneath her feet, catching at her steps. She pushed harder, lungs burning, heart hammering a savage rhythm in her chest.

Somewhere behind her, she heard it. Not words. Not footsteps. Apresence, vast and implacable, bearing down on her like a living force. The challenger moved through the trees with terrifying ease, each step breaking branches that should have snapped back to wound or trap. The underbrush shredded beneath him, leaves and twigs scattering in his wake as though the forest itself parted for him. No stealth. No hesitation. Just relentless pursuit.

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