Bound to the Triplet Alphas

ARIA POV

The crystal broke in my hands, releasing a blinding flash of light. I screamed as the energy surged through me, burning like lightning in my blood. The Moon Chamber trembled wildly around us.

"We need to get out now!" Kael shouted over the loud rumble.

Massive chunks of ceiling crashed down, barely missing us. Jaxon lifted Lucien, who was still weak but aware. Mira helped Elira toward the escape that had suddenly appeared in the far wall.

But I couldn’t move. The broken tie left a hollow emptiness inside me that hurt worse than any physical pain.

"Aria!" Kael reached for me, his hand passing through the golden light now surrounding my body. His eyes widened. "What’s happening to you?"

I looked down at my hands. My skin glowed from within, pulsing with the rhythm of my heartbeat. Where the curse’s dark red lines had been, golden patterns now flowed like rivers of light.

"Go," I managed to say as another piece of ceiling collapsed. "Save yourselves."

"We’re not leaving you," Jaxon declared.

"The Chamber is falling apart because of me," I said, somehow knowing it was true. "If I don’t stay and finish this, we all die."

The ground beneath us cracked. A gap opened between me and the others, separating us.