###Chapter Eight: Breaking the Bonds

I was done holding back.

The power in me was a storm — violent, untamed, dangerous. It resisted every time I tried to reach for it. And every time, I lost.

Not this time.

I gazed at Amara, who was standing in the clearing. Ronan stood nearby, watching.

Amara crossed her arms. "Last chance. You either take the reins, or you walk out less strong than you entered."

I choked a little, fists clenching. I would take control.

I had to.

Amara lifted her hand. A pulse of energy bore down on me — fast and ruthless.

I didn't run.

I didn't brace for impact.

I let go.

When I finally offered no opposition to my power, it ran through me. Fire coursed through my chest, through my veins. Silver light was burning in my hands.

I threw my hands forward.

The light source within me seemed to speak.

A shockwave radiating from my palms crashed into Amara's attack. Lashes of crackling sparks shoved one another in the air.

For a second I really thought I was gonna lose.

Then something in me broke.

My power slammed into Amara's and broke it like glass. The clearing rattled with the shockwave, and the trees shook.

Amara paused, her eyes wide.

Ronan let out a low whistle. "Damn."

My heart raced, and I struggled to breathe. My hands were still incandescent, ringing in silver light.

I did it.

I controlled it.

Amara studied me for a long moment. Then, slowly, she smirked. "Not bad."

I sighed and could hardly hold it together. "That's it? Not bad?"

Ronan chuckled. "She doesn't hand out compliments."

Amara ignored him. "You're more tough than I thought you were."

My hands were shaking and I swallowed hard. "So what now?"

Amara's silver eyes darkened. "Now? Now you know what it means to really be the Lunar Rebirth."

A chill ran through me.

Because something told me…

This was only the beginning.

Fast paced breakout moment

Arden finally able to control her power

Ronan and Amara seeing her grow

Power and Consequence

Power was like fire.

It could, in measured amounts, warm you, whatever that means, protect you, light your way.

Uncontrolled? It might simply set it all on fire."

The energy-link I had just completed shocked me yet on through my hands, as I stood in the center of the clearing. The trees in the vicinity bucked from its force. My breath was uneven, my pulse irregular.

Ronan stepped in closer, staring at me intently. "How do you feel?"

I swallowed hard. "So that I could shatter the world."

Amara chuckled. "Let's start with something smaller."

I shot her a look. "I was so clueless about what I did."

She tilted her head. "You stopped trying to control the power as a weapon."

I frowned. "Isn't that the whole point?"

Amara shook her head. "No. Power like yours is not a sword to wield." It's a river. You don't force it—you lead it."

I exhaled as I absorbed it.

A river. Not a weapon.

The one time I remembered it working. As soon as I stopped resisting the power, it complied.

It was like the first time someone showed me how to keep breathing when I was submerged. If you panicked, you drowned. But if you swam with the current, you drifted.

Ronan crossed his arms. "She's right. The harder you push against it, the harder it'll push back."

I sighed. "So what now? More training?"

Amara smirked. "No. Now we know what you are truly made of."

It turned my stomach the way she said it.

I had power. That much was clear.

But what if it wasn't all up to me?

And what if, when the moment finally arrived …

I didn't want to?

Arden's power is indicative of something even more important (hold your horses and don't flip the table)

metaphors that serve as a way of understanding her power (fire, river, breathing underwater)

The chemistry and tension between Ronan and Amara

The Power of Will Test

The air felt heavier. Charged.

Amara led me deeper into the woods, her silver eyes unreadable. Now Ronan walked beside me, his golden eyes alert. Neither of them spoke.

I didn't like it.

"Get it," said the silence, and after a while: "Okay, fine." "Anyone want to tell me where we are going?"

Amara didn't stop. "You'll see."

I frowned. "You say that a lot."

Ronan smirked. "You'll get used to it."

I huffed. "Doubt it."

The trees opened up to a small clearing. At its center, one stone — tall and smooth, carved with ancient symbols that glowed dully.

Something tugged oddly in my chest.

I stepped closer. "What is this?"

Amara finally turned to me. "Your next test."

I blinked. "My what?"

She gestured to the stone. "Put your hand on it."

I hesitated. "Why?"

Ronan's jaw tightened. "Because it's going to tell you who you really are."

A chill ran down my spine.

I looked at the stone. My pulse quickened.

Every instinct I had told me to leave.

But I didn't.

I stepped forward and pressed my hand against the stone.

The world vanished.

Darkness swallowed me whole.

Then

Flashes of light.

A full white moon loomed over a bleeding silver sky.

A silhouetted person silhouetted against battlefield smoke.

Wolves — hundreds of them — howling in concert.

And a voice, deep and primordial, saying my name.

Lunar Rebirth.

Balance.

Destroyer.

I shrieked, jerking my hand back.

Everything came back into focus."

I stumbled, my breath ragged.

Ronan caught my arm. "Arden."

I shook, my head, panic sank so heavy in my chest. "What was that?"

Amara studied with me. "The truth."

I swallowed hard. "What does it mean?"

She tilted her head. "It means you have a choice."

My pulse pounded. "A choice for what?"

Amara's silver eyes darkened. "To save us."

Her voice dropped lower.

"Or to end us all."

Sprawling visionary scene with a fast-pace narrative

More intrigue over what Arden's true agenda really is

Dynamic between her, Ronan and Amara

THE HEAVY HAND OF DESTINY

The words echoed in my head.

Save us… or end us all.

I took a ragged breath and pulled back from the stone. My legs were shaky, my chest was tight.

"Yours is not an answer," I said. My voice sounded too small.

Amara stared at me, her expression blank. "That answer is the only answer that counts."

I clenched my fists. "You saw what I saw. That—that wasn't me."

Her silver eyes flickered. "Are you sure?"

A chill ran through me.

She'd looked to Ronan for something — denial, reassurance, anything. But his golden eyes reflected no emotion.

In the end, he said, "You don't have to be it."

My breath hitched. "But it could be."

No one answered.

It was silence weightier than words.

I swallowed hard. "I was going to end the curse." Isn't that what Kael wants?"

Amara exhaled. "Kael wants freedom. He wants power. But you?" She leaned in closer, lowering her voice. "You're more than just a key.

I shook my head. "No. That's not — " I raked a hand through my hair, fury burning in my chest. "I didn't ask for this."

Amara smiled faintly. "Power doesn't seek permission."

I hated that answer.

Ronan shifted beside me. "You have a choice, Arden."

I glanced up at him, throat tight. "What if I take a false step?"

His gaze softened. "Then I'll stop you."

The words should have struck fear into me.

They didn't.

Because it was after the warning that I heard something:

A promise.

I breathed in, and looked at him. "Then you had better train me better."

Ronan smirked. "I was planning on it."

Amara chuckled. "Good. Because like it or not…"

Her silver eyes gleamed.

"The war is coming."

Fast paced with layered emotional dynamics

Arden caught between her forces of good and destruction

All the tension & trust issues between her and Ronan