The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 163

< Confirmation Ceremony-1

Confirmation Ceremony-1

Clam

The black SUV cut through the night like a shadow, its engine humming low yet powerful as it devoured the distance toward the royal estate, the city lights fading behind them while the open road stretched endlessly ahead under the rising glow of the full moon.

Inside, silence reigned.

Heavy.

Thick.

Filled with everything that had just happened.

Iva sat in the back seat, her hands resting in her lap, fingers loosely intertwined, though every now and then they tightened unconsciously as her thoughts spiraled, trying-and failing-to keep up with the whirlwind of the last few hours.

Next to her, calm.

In control, stood Caleb.

As if the storm inside him had been neatly locked away behind iron walls.

But she knew better now.

Or at least… she was starting to.

Her gaze shifted slightly toward the front of the car, where James sat behind the wheel, focused yet relaxed, guiding the vehicle with practiced ease even at the high speed they were traveling.

As if sensing her eyes on him, he glanced briefly in the rearview mirror, catching her gaze.

A small, reassuring smile appeared on his lips.

Iva blinked in mild surprise… and returned it, shy but genuine.

There was something comforting in that simple gesture, something grounding in the normality of it, and for a brief second, it eased the tightness in her chest.

Then her thoughts came rushing back.

And the calm shattered.

Because everything… everything felt unreal.

Just hours ago, she was convinced she had lost everything, that she had made the only choice she could to protect what little remained of her heart.

And now-

Now she was sitting next to him again.

Her mate.

<Confirmation Ceremony-1

On the way to prove something that could change everything.

Her gaze dropped slightly, her mind circling back to the most immediate truth pressing down on her.

The test.

The ancient one.

The one that would reveal whether she truly was what she claimed to be.

The Messenger of the Moon Goddess.

A slow breath left her lips.

Oddly enough… that part did not scare her.

Not really.

Because deep inside, beneath the doubt, beneath the fear, beneath everything she had been through-

She knew that she was not lying, she was not pretending.

Whatever this gift was… whatever this burden meant…

It was hers.

And she would face it.

But-

Her stomach twisted slightly.

Her eyes flickered toward Caleb again.

The real challenge… was not the test, it was what came after.

Or rather-Who.

The royal family.

The name alone carried weight.

Power.

History.

Expectation.

The Adamas.

The absolute rulers of their realm.

The ones whose decisions shaped the lives of thousands… no, millions.

And she…

Claim

<Confirmation Ceremony-1

Iva swallowed hard.

She, who had spent her life being overlooked, underestimated, treated as lesser-

She was about to stand in front of them.-

As what?

A possible fraud?

A complication?

A threat?

Or-

Her fingers tightened slightly.

As their future Crown Princess.

Her heart skipped painfully at the thought.

No.

Don’t go there.

Not yet.

Not now.

Claim

She shifted slightly in her seat, trying to release some of the tension building inside her, but it only made her more aware of the man sitting beside her.

Caleb.

Close.

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