Chapter 41: The Red Moon Rising

 

The days that followed were the happiest Killian had been in years, and the most haunted I had ever been.

Killian was a whirlwind of energy. He was back on the training grounds, his Alpha aura more potent than ever. He laughed more, held me tighter, and even started planning a grand vacation for the four of us to the Southern Isles.

But every time his skin touched mine, I saw him flinch for a micro-second before he masked it.

"You're so cold, Elena," he whispered one night, wrapping his warm arms around me in bed. "Your skin feels like it's been dipped in moonlight."

"It's just the mountain air, Killian," I lied, my heart aching with every word. "I've always been a bit prone to the cold."

I kept the bandages on my hand, claiming a clumsy kitchen accident. I wore high-collared dresses to hide the black rune that was slowly spreading its icy tendrils toward my throat.

But I couldn't hide from Nyx.

My daughter stopped playing with her brother. She spent her days sitting in the shadows of my room, her violet eyes fixed on my chest. She didn't speak. She just watched.

"Why are you looking at Mommy like that, shadow?" I asked, trying to sound cheerful as I brushed my hair.

"It's loud," Nyx whispered.

I froze, the brush stopping mid-air. "What's loud, honey?"

"The heart," she said, walking over and placing her tiny, cold hand over my heart—right where the pact was etched. "It’s not thumping. It’s... singing. But it’s a sad song."

I pulled her into a hug, her small body the only thing that felt 'right' in this distorted new reality. "It's just a secret song, Nyx. Our secret. You can't tell Daddy, okay? It would make him very, very sad."

Nyx looked at me, and for a moment, she didn't look like a five-year-old. She looked like the goddess the Coven wanted her to be.

"Daddy would burn the forest down if he knew," she said solemnly.

"That's why we won't tell him," I whispered.

---

That evening, the world decided to remind us that time was a luxury we no longer possessed.

We were sitting on the terrace, watching the sunset, when the sky didn't turn its usual orange and pink.

A sliver of the moon appeared, even though the sun was still visible. And it wasn't white.

It was a deep, bruised crimson.

The Red Moon.

"What is that?" Lucian asked, pointing his small finger at the sky, his golden aura flickering with unease.

Killian stood up, his hand instantly dropping to the hilt of his blade. The scar on his chest—the one that had turned silver—began to itch. I could see him scratching it unconsciously.

"An eclipse?" I asked, though I knew better.

"No," Killian’s voice was grim. "It's a summons."

Suddenly, a sharp, searing pain erupted in my chest. I gasped, clutching the table to keep from falling.

“The moon turns red, servant,” the voice of the green-eyed witch hissed inside my skull. “The first payment is due. Bring the girl to the Whispering Woods tonight. Or the King’s heart will stop permanently this time.”

I looked at Killian. He was looking at the moon with a warrior's focus, oblivious to the fact that his wife was currently being mentally strangled by a hawk.

"Elena? You’re pale," Killian turned to me, his brow furrowed in concern. "Is it the cold again?"

"I... I think I just need to lie down," I managed to choke out.

"I'll take you," he said, reaching for me.

"No!" I snapped, a bit too loudly. "I mean... stay with Lucian. He’s scared of the moon. I’ll be fine. Just a headache."

I turned and practically ran into the palace.

I didn't go to the bedroom. I went to the nursery.

Nyx was already standing by the window, her coat on, her black teddy bear in her hand.

"We have to go, don't we?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, my voice trembling. "We have to go."

"Will we come back?"

I looked at the red moon reflected in her violet eyes. I looked at the palace I had called home, and the man I had sold my soul to save.

"I don't know, Nyx," I whispered, taking her hand. "But as long as we’re together, the shadows can't hurt us."

We slipped out the back entrance, heading toward the forest, leaving behind the only life I had ever wanted for a destiny I was forced to choose.