The Mark Of The Moon

Aurora woke to the sound of her own heartbeat.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

It echoed through the darkness of the sanctuary as though the ancient walls had become a second chest around her.

She opened her eyes.

The first thing she noticed was the moonlight.

It poured through the cracks in the stone ceiling, silver and impossibly bright, illuminating the chamber in a strange, almost sacred glow.

The second thing she noticed was the pain.

Her hand burned.

Aurora lifted it slowly.

A silver crescent-shaped mark had appeared on the center of her palm.

She stared at it.

“What is that?”

“It wasn’t there before.”

Lucien.

His voice came from behind her.

Aurora turned.

The vampire king stood several feet away, his dark coat torn from the battle outside. There was dried blood along his jaw, but his eyes were fixed entirely on her hand.

Kael stood beside him.

Unlike Lucien, the werewolf king looked furious.

Not at Aurora.

At the mark.

“What did the Moon Goddess do to her?” Kael demanded.

Aurora swallowed.

“I don’t know.”

The silver mark suddenly flashed.

Pain shot through her arm.

She gasped.

Lucien moved first.

He was beside her in an instant.

“Aurora.”

His hand reached for hers.

The moment their fingers touched, the mark glowed brighter.

Kael’s eyes widened.

“Lucien.”

The vampire king froze.

“What?”

“Move your hand.”

Lucien looked down.

The silver crescent had begun changing.

A thin line of light traveled from Aurora’s palm, crawling slowly up her wrist.

Then another appeared.

And another.

Until the glowing lines formed a pattern that looked almost like ancient writing.

Kael stepped closer.

“I’ve seen that symbol before.”

Aurora looked at him.

“Where?”

“In the oldest records of my pack.”

His expression darkened.

“It belonged to the last Moon Champion.”

Silence filled the sanctuary.

Aurora’s stomach tightened.

“What happened to her?”

Kael didn’t answer immediately.

Lucien did.

“She died.”

Aurora looked at him.

“How?”

Lucien’s jaw tightened.

“She was hunted by both vampires and werewolves.”

“Why?”

“Because everyone feared what she could become.”

Aurora stared at the glowing mark.

“And what can I become?”

Neither king answered.

That frightened her more than anything.

Suddenly, a voice whispered through the sanctuary.

Everything.

Aurora’s breath caught.

The voice wasn’t Lucien’s.

It wasn’t Kael’s.

It came from inside her.

The candles surrounding the ancient altar burst into silver flames.

Kael immediately shifted into a defensive stance.

Lucien pulled Aurora behind him.

But Aurora pushed past him.

“Wait.”

“Aurora, don’t.”

She stepped toward the altar.

The ancient sword resting upon it began to tremble.

The Blade of Selene.

Its silver surface shimmered.

Then the blade lifted into the air.

Aurora stared.

The sword floated directly toward her.

Lucien grabbed her arm.

“No.”

His voice was sharper than she had ever heard it.

Aurora looked at him.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t know what it will do.”

Kael moved to her other side.

“And neither do I.”

For the first time, Aurora realized something.

The two most powerful men in the supernatural world were afraid.

Not of the sword.

Not of the sanctuary.

Of her.

The sword stopped inches from Aurora’s chest.

Then the silver crescent on her palm burned brighter.

The blade dissolved into light.

The light rushed into her body.

Aurora screamed.

Lucien caught her before she hit the ground.

Kael dropped beside them.

“Aurora!”

Her body shook violently.

Then—

Everything went silent.

Aurora opened her eyes.

They were no longer completely violet.

One eye had turned silver.

The other remained violet.

Lucien stared at her.

Kael stared too.

And somewhere deep within the ancient sanctuary, something laughed.

A low, cruel laugh.

Aurora slowly rose to her feet.

She looked at both kings.

“I can hear them.”

Lucien’s expression changed.

“Who?”

Aurora turned toward the sealed stone entrance.

Her face went pale.

“The dead.”

A loud BOOM shook the sanctuary.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Then another.

And another.

Something was trying to break through.

Kael’s claws extended.

Lucien’s fangs descended.

Aurora looked down at the glowing mark on her palm.

The voice whispered again.

They have found you.

Aurora’s blood ran cold.

“Who?”

The answer came from beyond the door.

A voice she had never heard before.

But somehow…

She recognized it.

“The ones who killed the last Moon Champion.”

The sanctuary doors began to crack.

Lucien stepped in front of Aurora.

Kael stood beside him.

For once, the vampire king and the werewolf king were united.

And Aurora realized the truth.

The war between their kingdoms had never really been about vampires and werewolves.

It had been about her.

And now that the Moon Goddess had awakened her power…

Everyone who had been hiding in the shadows was coming for her.