Chapter 116

Aurora's POV

The old smuggler's tunnels beneath Blood Moon territory smelled like my childhood nightmares. Damp earth. Rotting wood. That musty scent of secrets buried too long underground.

Kane and I crept through the narrow passages like ghosts. Our footsteps were silent on the soft ground. These tunnels had been my escape routes during countless childhood punishments. Now they served a much more dangerous purpose.

Kane's hand signals were sharp and precise as we navigated the underground maze. The infiltration was going perfectly. We'd timed our movements to exploit every blind spot in Raymond's paranoid surveillance network.

"Exit point," Kane whispered.

I peered through the concealed entrance into the courtyard. Empty. Moonlight painted everything silver and black. Exactly what we'd predicted.

We emerged like shadows come to life. Kane provided overwatch while I sealed the entrance behind us. The pack house loomed ahead like some sleeping beast. This place had been my home once. Now Giana's influence had twisted it into something hostile.

Kane pointed toward Giana's chambers. Then he signaled our planned route to avoid the heavy security. We moved through darkened corridors with practiced stealth. My architectural knowledge combined with Kane's tactical expertise created perfect coordination.

The hallways leading to Giana's wing were obscenely luxurious. Silk wallpaper. Crystal chandeliers. Artifacts she'd claimed as symbols of her rising status. Everything screamed of someone compensating for humble origins.

Kane checked the corridor ahead. All clear. We advanced toward the ornate doors marking Giana's private suite.

The locks were sophisticated but not impossible. Kane worked with surgical precision. His training went way beyond conventional tactics. Each security layer yielded to his expertise until the door opened without a sound.

I scanned the main room carefully. Searching for any sign of the artifact we'd come to destroy. The space was immaculate. Too perfect. Like Giana had deliberately arranged everything to appear innocent while hiding her true activities.

"It's not here," I whispered in frustration.

Kane nodded, frowning. "Where would she hide something that important?"

I studied the layout of her suite. Thinking through Giana's psychology and paranoia. She'd want the artifact close enough to monitor but hidden from casual discovery. My eyes fell on the door to her private dressing chamber.

"Her closet," I realized. "Most personal space she has. Somewhere she controls completely. Doesn't allow servants without permission."

We approached like we were defusing a bomb. Kane checked for security while I listened for any signs of detection. The dressing chamber was massive. Elaborate gowns hung in perfect rows. Glittering jewelry displays caught moonlight from the windows. Mirrors reflected our movements like accusing eyes.

But the hidden panel at the back drew our attention. The wood grain was slightly different. When I pressed against it, the panel swung inward with a soft click.

There was the artifact we'd come to destroy.

The crystalline object pulsed with a dark energy that made my skin crawl. Smaller than I'd expected. About the size of a fist. Its surface was covered in patterns that seemed to move when I looked at them directly. The magical energy pushed against my mind like invisible hands trying to pry open my skull.

"That's it," I breathed. "That's what's controlling Raymond."

Kane studied it with professional detachment. "Motion sensors. Pressure plates. Probably magical alarms too. She's hidden it well and protected it better."

We approached the alcove carefully. Kane bypassed mundane security while I navigated magical protections. The artifact was even more disturbing up close. Dark energy like corruption made manifest. It felt wrong in ways that made my bones ache.

"How do we destroy it?" Kane asked quietly.

"Pure silver should disrupt the magical matrix," I replied. I pulled out our specially prepared blade. "But if it releases all that energy at once..."

"Could alert every magical practitioner within miles," Kane finished.

I reached into the alcove. My fingers closed around the artifact's cold surface. The moment I made contact, searing pain shot through my hand like I'd grasped molten metal. The crystal fought against my touch. Actually resisting removal with a malevolent intelligence.

"It's fighting me," I gasped. Struggling to maintain my grip despite the magical backlash that felt like acid in my veins.

Kane moved to help. But just as his hands joined mine, alarms began shrieking throughout the pack house. Not mechanical alarms. Magical warnings that Giana had triggered remotely.

"We've been discovered," Kane said tersely. His weapon appeared in his hands like magic.

The artifact's glow suddenly intensified. Its dark energy pulsed with renewed strength. Instead of being destroyed by our interference, it seemed to be drawing power from our proximity. Growing stronger rather than weaker.

"She knew we were coming," I realized with growing horror. "This was a trap."

Heavy footsteps echoed in the corridors outside. Guards responding to the alarms. Kane moved to check our escape route. Then he cursed softly.

"Security teams blocking all the exits. We're surrounded."

Giana's voice echoed through the chambers via magical communication. Her tone carried smug satisfaction that made me want to punch something.

"Did you really think I wouldn't sense your presence the moment you entered my territory?" She sounded like she was enjoying herself. "The artifact doesn't just control Raymond. It enhances my awareness of everything that happens in Blood Moon lands."

Kane and I exchanged grim looks. We'd planned for conventional security measures. But Giana's magical capabilities were far more sophisticated than we'd anticipated.

"You can't destroy it," Giana continued. Her voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. "The artifact is protected by magic older and more powerful than anything you understand. Your interference has only made it stronger."

The crystal pulsed with renewed energy. I could feel its influence pressing against my mind like invisible claws. The magical conditioning that had twisted Raymond's personality was trying to establish a foothold in my consciousness as well.

Dark whispers began at the edges of my thoughts. Telling me Kane couldn't be trusted. That he'd abandon me when things got dangerous. That everyone I loved would betray me eventually.

"Aurora," Kane's voice cut through the mental assault. Sharp and clear. "Focus on my voice. Don't let it in."

His hand found mine. The physical contact helped me resist the artifact's influence. But I could feel how hard it was pushing. How desperately it wanted to corrupt my mind like it had Raymond's.

"We need to leave," Kane said urgently. "Now."

The sounds of approaching guards grew louder. We were trapped between magical corruption and physical threats. No clear path to safety.

Kane made the tactical decision to fight our way out. His military expertise guided us through hostile corridors as Giana's forces closed in from multiple directions. His protection of me was expert and devoted but never controlling. He trusted my ability to handle myself while ensuring we moved as a coordinated unit.

The battle through Blood Moon territory was desperate running combat. Kane's training and my building knowledge created escape opportunities. But Giana's forces were numerous and well-coordinated.

We fought through three separate ambushes before reaching our extraction point. Kane's brilliance allowed us to outmaneuver overwhelming numbers. But it was close. Too close.

"Movement pattern suggests they're herding us," Kane observed during a brief lull. "She wants us to escape this way."

"Another trap?"

"Or she's gathering intelligence on our capabilities." His expression was grim. "Either way, staying isn't an option."

We made it to the forest perimeter as dawn broke over the horizon. Both of us breathing hard from exertion and adrenaline. The mission had failed completely. The artifact wasn't just intact. It was stronger.

"She was expecting us," I said bitterly. "Everything we did played into her hands."

Kane's expression was grim but not defeated. "We tried. That's more than anyone else was willing to do. And we gained intelligence about her capabilities."

The morning light made everything look normal again. Like we hadn't just infiltrated hostile territory and barely escaped with our lives.

As we made our way back toward Alpha King territory, I couldn't shake the feeling that we'd walked into something far more dangerous than expected. Giana had been toying with us. Letting us get close enough to understand how completely we were outclassed.

But despite the mission's failure, something important had been accomplished. Kane and I had worked together under extreme pressure. Trusting each other completely in life-threatening circumstances. Our partnership had been tested and proven strong.

The war against the Rogue King was far from over. Now we knew it would be even more difficult than imagined. But we'd face it together. As equals who trusted each other with their lives.

Even if that trust was about to be tested in ways neither of us could imagine.