“My Luna…” he began gently. “You still have time to reconsider. A bond blessed by the Moon Goddess is not easily broken. Both of you may still speak before this becomes permanent.”
Aria let out a faint, humorless laugh.
“Every bond has its limits, Lupas,” she said quietly.
“Once those limits are crossed… there is nothing left to repair.”
She turned her gaze toward Caleb.
Tears shimmered in his eyes.
“Our bond crossed that limit today.”
Just then, a voice called from the bedroom.
“Caleb… where are—”
A young woman stepped out of the room, wrapped only in a blanket.
The moment she noticed Lupas standing there—and Aria beside him—her eyes widened in shock. Embarrassment flooded her face before she hurriedly retreated back inside the room.
The scribe grimaced slightly in disgust.
Aria, however, did not react at all.
Her expression remained eerily calm.
“Once the rejection rite is complete, send me a copy of the council record,” she said quietly.
Lupas nodded.
Without waiting for a reply, Aria walked past Caleb and toward the door.
He remained rooted to the spot.
His heart screamed at him to chase after her.
To beg for forgiveness.
To stop her from leaving.
But his feet refused to move.