CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT - How Empires Begin To Crumble

Lucas stood frozen, focusing on the sensation. North. She was north of here, the pull unmistakable. "I—" He shook his head. "Excuse me." Without explanation, he strode from the room, ignoring the startled exclamations behind him. The feeling grew stronger as he moved through the academy hallways, breaking into a run once he reached the grounds. The forest enveloped him as he sprinted, following the invisible tether that called to his wolf. Golden eyes glowed as he pushed himself faster, heart pounding with desperate hope. "Aria," he whispered her name like a prayer. The pull led him to the northern border of Silver Moon territory, where their land met neutral ground. Here, the sensation wavered, then faded like morning mist burned away by sunlight. "No!" Lucas snarled, spinning in circles, searching. "Aria! ARIA!" Only forest sounds answered—birds startled by his shout, the rustle of leaves in the breeze. The connection was gone, snuffed out as suddenly as it had appeared. Luca