The Shadow Army

The first explosion shook the sanctuary before Aurora could take another breath.

BOOM!

Stone fell from the ceiling.

Elyra stumbled backward.

“They’re here.”

Aurora tightened her grip on the Blade of Selene.

“How many?”

Elyra’s face was pale.

“Too many.”

Another explosion rocked the sanctuary.

This time, the ancient doors cracked down the middle.

Kael stepped forward, his eyes turning golden.

“Then we’ll make sure they don’t get through.”

Lucien drew his sword.

“Stay close to Aurora.”

Kael glanced at him.

“I don’t need you to tell me that.”

Aurora sighed.

“Not now.”

Both men looked at her.

She raised the Blade of Selene.

“Whatever happens outside, we stay together.”

Lucien nodded.

Kael smiled.

“Agreed.”

The doors finally exploded.

A wave of darkness poured into the sanctuary.

Hundreds of creatures emerged.

They weren’t vampires.

They weren’t wolves.

They were something else.

Their bodies were covered in black armor, their eyes glowing violet.

The Shadow Army.

Their leader stepped forward.

He wore a crown made from black bone.

Aurora immediately recognized him.

Not from memory.

From the whispers inside her mind.

The Shadow King.

He looked directly at her.

“Moon Champion.”

Aurora raised her sword.

“Shadow King.”

His lips curled into a smile.

“You remember.”

“Enough.”

He laughed.

“You still don’t know the truth.”

Aurora’s eyes narrowed.

“Then tell me.”

The Shadow King looked toward Lucien and Kael.

“Ask your mates what happened the night you died.”

Aurora’s heart stopped.

She turned toward them.

“Again?”

Lucien’s expression hardened.

“Don’t listen to him.”

The Shadow King smiled.

“Why not?”

He raised one hand.

A vision appeared.

Aurora saw the past.

Six hundred years ago.

The Moon Kingdom was burning.

She stood before the palace gates with Lucien and Kael beside her.

Then someone approached.

A man wearing a silver cloak.

Aurora recognized him.

The stranger from the sanctuary.

He placed a hand on Aurora’s shoulder.

And whispered:

“Forgive me.”

The vision changed.

The stranger drove a silver blade into Aurora’s chest.

Kael screamed.

Lucien attacked him.

But the stranger disappeared into a cloud of shadows.

Aurora fell.

Her blood stained the snow.

The vision vanished.

Aurora stood frozen.

She looked at the Shadow King.

“Who was he?”

The Shadow King smiled.

“Your protector.”

Aurora’s eyes widened.

“My protector?”

“Your most trusted guardian.”

Lucien’s face went pale.

Aurora turned toward him.

“You knew.”

Lucien shook his head.

“I didn’t know who betrayed you.”

“But you knew there was a betrayal.”

“Yes.”

Kael stepped forward.

“We were trying to find him.”

Aurora looked at him.

“For six hundred years?”

Kael’s expression was filled with regret.

“We never stopped.”

The Shadow King laughed.

“You’re wasting your time.”

He raised his sword.

“The betrayer is already waiting for her.”

Aurora’s heart pounded.

“Where?”

The Shadow King pointed toward the north.

“The Moon Kingdom.”

Aurora looked at Lucien.

Then Kael.

Then the ruined sanctuary.

“We’re going there.”

Lucien immediately shook his head.

“No.”

Aurora frowned.

“Why?”

“Because that’s exactly where Seraphine wants you.”

Aurora lifted the Blade of Selene.

“Then we’ll go.”

Kael stepped beside her.

“I’ll go with you.”

Lucien sighed.

“So will I.”

Aurora looked at them.

“And the Shadow Army?”

Kael smiled.

“We’ll deal with them.”

Lucien’s eyes turned crimson.

“But first…”

He looked toward the army.

“We survive this.”

Aurora raised her sword.

Silver light exploded across the sanctuary.

The Shadow Army charged.

And Aurora charged straight toward them.

For the first time, she wasn’t running from her past.

She was going to reclaim it.