ALPHA XAVIER POV

The dust kicked up by our horses swirled around me like a miniature sandstorm, momentarily obscuring the shimmering cityscape of the Moon Rock hold. The trip from the Moon Rock was dramatic at best, a constant game of cat and mouse with those who, under the warped logic of the Moon Goddess’s mandate, sought to prevent my return.

We had to pause our journey time after time, they stubbornly believed they could kill me, which made me laugh at their blind faith in a destiny I was determined to defy. But time, for me, was precious, every second a fleeting whisper of the woman who waited for...