Luna's ultimatum echoed through the chamber.
Ascend or shatter.
Become goddess or become nothing.
No third option.
No survival as myself.
I stood in the blinding light surrounded by ancestors demanding I choose.
And through the red thread, I felt Astro.
His presence.
His consciousness connected to mine.
His essence mixed with my bloodline when he bound his fate to mine.
You knew.
The thought came before I could stop it.
Bitter.
Accusing.
You knew I was a vessel. Knew what Luna designed me for. And you never told me.
Through the thread, I felt his shock.
"Haven, no. I didn't know. Not until your mother revealed it. I swear—"
You were Luna's scribe for a thousand years. You know her secrets. Her methods. Her designs. You expect me to believe you didn't know she was breeding replacement bodies?
"I knew about the priestess bloodline being vessels theoretically. But I didn't know she'd actually created one. Didn't know you were—"
Didn't know or didn't tell me?
